


Loving Her

by imaginesforyourfandom



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Just a little something I wrote
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-07-07 17:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 84,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19856395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginesforyourfandom/pseuds/imaginesforyourfandom
Summary: What happens when years of having feelings for someone is revealed right at the beginning of the World Cup. Will they be reciprocated? Read to find out!





	1. Welcome to the Roster

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little Multi-Chapter story that I have been writing. Still a WIP!

Alex POV:

I climbed out my car as I headed towards the front door of Ash and Ali’s place. I walked in without knocking and headed towards the kitchen where I saw them sitting with some of the other pride girls. I gave them all a smile as I placed my bag down and sat down in the chair. I glanced at my phone and then looked up at them.

“How is the planning going?” I asked looking to Ali who was organizing stuff for Syd’s baby shower. She grinned at me moving some stuff around the table.

“It is going so well. I am pretty much done.” She said looking around at everything and putting her hands together. Ashlyn gave her a smile while she played with Logan.

“Why do you look so down?” she asked looking to me. I shrugged my shoulders as I looked at some of the stuff that Ali had laid out on the table.

“Oh, by the way, Kelley said to tell you that (Y/N) made the roster. She found out a few days ago.” Ashlyn said. I did my best not to react, but I couldn’t hide the smile that crossed my face at the mention of (Y/N). “Yeah I thought that would brighten your day a little”

“I don’t care. I think it’s great that she made the roster. She’s incredibly talented and we need her on the team.” I said glaring at Ash.

“Alex” Ali said giving me a knowing look as Dani, Alanna, and some of the other girls laughed. I shook my head but continued smiling as I typed out a congratulations to (Y/N). So, maybe I did have a little crush on my fellow forward. It was tiny and it really didn’t matter that much.

“More like you need her to..”

“Ash!” Ali said giving her a look as Ash just smiled. By this point, Alanna was practically on the ground laughing. I shook my head as I leaned back in my seat. “You do know it’s okay to say you like her, right?”

“I don’t like her like that.” I said which caused me to get looks from everyone in the room. I sighed and put my head in my hands. “Okay so maybe I have a small crush.”

“A small crush?” Alanna asked crossing her arms at me. “I’ve seen you two interact. It’s more like an old married couple.”

“The only people who don’t know you guys like each other is you guys.” Ash said as she looked at her phone and then looked at me. She gave me a small smile. “I don’t understand why one of you just doesn’t ask the other out.”

“It’s not that easy. How can you even be sure that she would like me like that?”

“Besides the fact that she follows you around like a lost puppy? She looks at you the same way I look at Ali or the way Pinoe looks at Sue, Julie and Zach, Christen and Tobin. She looks at you like you put the goddamn stars in the sky. It’s okay to like her. No one is going to judge you for liking her. She’s hot and she wants to be around you. What more could you ask for?”

“She also told Christen, Becky, and Julie that she has a huge crush on you.” Ali said shrugging her shoulders as she gave me a smile. I stared at her with shock on my face.

“And you all just forgot to tell me?” I said looking around at all of them. Ali gave me a somewhat guilty look while Ash just shrugged her shoulders.

“You all have so much drama on your team….its amazing that you find time to train.” Alanna said as she snacked on some chips.

“All families fight.” Ash said shrugging her shoulders. I nodded my head as I started thinking about all this new information that I have gotten from them. The fact that it isn’t even a maybe that (Y/N) likes me anymore has given me a lot to think about. I felt a little giddy at the idea that she liked me back, but I had a lot to think about before I made any decisions.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

I groaned as the banging on my door continued. I stood up from where I was laying on the couch and opened the door to see Christen and Kelley both grinning at me. I groaned and turned back walking towards my couch.

“You know for someone who just made their first World Cup roster you are such a downer” Kelley said as she came in and dropped into one of my living room chairs. I mocked her a little before finding the comfortable spot on my couch again.

“I’m tired.” I mumbled snuggling into my pillow. Christen chuckled as she set down the coffee, she had brought me onto the table next to me. “I don’t like morning workouts. I like sleep.”

“If you want to be the best, you got to train like the best.” Kelley said giving me a smile.

“Okay Carli”

“Do not even.” Kelley said mocking offense. “I am nowhere near the level that is Carli Lloyd.”

“I don’t think there is anyone quite like Carli” Christen said with a slight chuckle. “Aren’t you happy you made the roster?”

“Yeah, I am happy. I sort of knew like two months ago that I was pretty much going.” I said sitting up and picking up the coffee and taking a sip. “God that’s delicious.”

“What do you mean you knew months ago?” Kelley asked giving me an annoyed look.

“Kelley, I’ve started almost every game since like the beginning of last year.” I said shrugging my shoulders. “Not to be arrogant, but I think I have a solid starting spot.”

“Must be nice” Christen said as I turned to her giving her a small pout.

“Sorry” she shook her head at me as I looked to my phone seeing a congratulations text from Alex. I smiled at it and sent her back a thank you.

“Is that Alex?” Kelley asked giving me a teasing smile. I shook my head as I turned towards the defender. “I told Ash to tell her you made the roster. Though, I was wondering why you didn’t just tell her considering you guys talk all the time...”

“She isn’t going to care if I make the roster” I mumbled causing both girls to scoff at me.

“Okay that’s bullshit considering that you guys are like in love with each other.” Kelley said giving me a look. I scrunched up my face at her and turned towards christen who shrugged her shoulders.

“She is not in love with me.” I said rolling my eyes at her statement.

“But you’re in love with her?” Christen asked though it sounded more like she was stating a fact.

“Maybe…I don’t know. I have had a long time to come to terms with my feelings for her and come to terms with the fact that she would never feel the same.”

“Wait…hang on I was just messing around about the crush, but like you’re genuinely in love with her?” Kelley said with shock all over her face. I gave her a look with disbelief as Christen let out a laugh.

“How could I not be?” I threw my hands up in the air. “Have you met her? She’s perfect. She’s extremely talented and funny and beautiful. Oh my god she is so beautiful. One of the most caring people I have ever met.”

“Oh, you have it bad…” Christen gave me a sympathetic look. “Why don’t you just talk to her about it?”

“Not an option. I like the friendship I have with her and I don’t want to ruin that.”

“You guys act like a couple without all the fun stuff. Like, being around each other and being overly affectionate. You talk all the time. Don’t think I don’t know that she’s the one you facetime after games. The only thing you don’t do is kiss…and you know the other fun stuff.”

I blushed at the thought of kissing Alex. This was the problem being anywhere near Alex usually got me flustered. I couldn’t help the fact that my heart sped up every time we were near each other. I got lost in my thoughts thinking about what it would be like to kiss her when a pillow hit my head. I looked up at Kelley who had a giant smile on her face.

“You’re thinking about it, now right?” I shook my head as I stood up and headed towards my kitchen looking for a snack. I grabbed some lifesaver gummies that I got from the movies before coming back into the room. “I don’t get it. You like her and here we are telling you that she is just as into you…”

“Kelley, I’ve done this before. I’ve done the back and forth with someone I care deeply for before. I ended up with my heart broken. It sucked and I don’t want to do it again. I am going to just jump head first if I have no reassurance that she’s going to feel the same.”

“She likes you. The only people who don’t know about how you guys feel are you guys” Christen said as I shook my head.

“She doesn’t. Last time I checked; she was straight.” I said giving them both looks. “Are you guys forgetting that she used to have a whole ass husband? Why would I put myself through the pain of trying to date a straight girl?”

“People can be Bisexual (Y/N)!” Kelley said as I turned towards her giving her an annoyed look. “I mean everyone is a little gay these days! It just happens that Alex is a little gay for you…”

I sighed in frustration running my hands over my face. I was over this whole conversation. I didn’t want to be given hope that she would feel the same for me, but the thought was nice. The idea that she could ever feel anything more than friendly feelings for me was intoxicating in itself.

“Look, this is what I know, you came on to this team at the worst time of Alex’s life. It genuinely felt like nobody could get through to her. I mean I’m not entirely sure how you’re supposed to react when you lose the Olympics and then find out that your husband is cheating right after you moved your entire life for him, but you know what? You did. You got through to her. It wasn’t me or Tobin or Allie or any of us that was able to bring the smile back to her face. It wasn’t us who motivated her to keep going. I know you don’t believe it because it seems like some faraway dream, but you are perfect for her. You are what she needs.” I felt my eyes well up as I shook my head trying to shake off the emotions.

“Stop…you’re going to make me cry” I said running my fingers through my hair. “I was there for her because I cared, not because I had any ulterior motive.”

“Which is exactly why you’re perfect for her. You don’t pay attention to US Soccer Star Alex Morgan. You pay attention to Alex.” Christen said as she gave me a soft smile. I nodded my head at the statement because it was true. I have never cared for her image or how famous she is. I only care about her.

“Can we just drop this for now? I need to think” I said as both girls nodded. “Also, nice speech Kel, really got me in my feels”

“No problem. I can be sensitive. Just know that if you were to go for it, literally the entire team wants you to be together so…”

I nodded my head with a slight laugh. “Good to know”

“Have you started packing yet?” Christen asked as she adjusted her sitting position.

“Nope” I replied chuckling when Kelley also shook her head. She gave both of us looks which caused us to shrug our shoulders.

“Are you going to start anytime soon?”

“Probably not. I’ll probably wait until the day before I leave. I pack best when I am stressed out about it.”

“Psychopath…” she mumbled as I grinned at the forward.

“When does the roster get announced? Do we have a date for that?”

“Becky said that they were going to release it on May 1st. That’s in like a week. We have to be in camp in like 3 days though.”

“I have to keep this secret for a week!” Kelley joked as I laughed.

“Camp should be fun. So, do we know who didn’t make the roster?”

“McCall. Casey. Moe didn’t, but I don’t know if she was really in contention. Ali made the roster which is amazing. Sonnett and all of them made roster as well which is great.”

“Yeah no I knew about Sonnett and them. Tierna made the roster which made me really happy.” I said as I finished my coffee.

“Yeah that was a really good choice in my opinion.” Kelley said as I nodded my head.

“It’s going to be interesting…” Christen said as I nodded my head. I was thinking about the roster which made me think about cam which soon brought back thoughts about Alex. Hearing from them that they were sure that Alex felt the same made me feel a little giddy. I want to be with her, and I wouldn’t mind making the first move, but I don’t want to make the first move without knowing that she feels the same as me. I have a lot to think about.

**To be Continued…**

**A/N:** She is here y’all! I finally decided to write the story. I don’t know when the next update will be, but I am going to be working on it!


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

(Y/N) POV:

“Wake up!” I rubbed my eyes as I turned to see Christen giving me an annoyed look. I scowled at the forward as she gave me another shove when I tried to lay my head down. “I am not going to tell you again.”

“I’m awake” I said as I stretched a little bit. “When do we land?”

“10 minutes” she said looking at the book in her hand. I nodded my head as I leaned back in my seat.

Today was the first day of Pre-World Cup Camp. We had all sorts of fun things to do now that most of America was catching onto the WC hype. We would do the send-off series while also doing media for the WC. I knew we had a huge media coming up after our send-off games.

I was currently flying into camp with Christen, Kelley, and Becky. It was less than a 2-hour flight which was short considering how close Utah is to California. I was exhausted from packing all night though.

“I told you to pack earlier.” Christen said as I turned to glare at the older girl. “You probably wouldn’t be so tired now. Also, with those sunglasses you look hungover.”

“I feel hungover. I probably shouldn’t have slept on this flight.” I gave a small smile as she nodded her head at me.

She then closed her book and moved to start getting her things ready for when we landed. I made sure all my stuff was put together and that I could just stand and go. I turned my head to look behind me and saw Becky and Kelley talking. Usually, my bus buddy is Becky, but I ended up with the seat next to Christen which was fine.

“(Y/N)” I turned to look at the California Native. She raised her eyebrows at me, and I stared at her in confusion. She motioned to the tray in front of me which I put up abruptly. She let out a little laugh.

Once we landed, the four of us made our way to collect our bags and head for the hotel. Once we got there, I found out I was rooming with Alex which immediately put a smile on my face.

“I don’t understand. You’re so excited to see her….you literally just saw her when we played the Pride.” Kelley had an exasperated look on her face as I just grinned. I walked away from her heading towards the elevators. I got to my floor, found my room, and walked in. I sat my stuff on the bed noticing Alex’s stuff around the room. Before I could do anything else, I felt arms wrap around my neck. I turned and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her in for a hug.

“Hi” it came out muffled due to her face being in my neck.

“Hello” I said as I let her go. She gave me a big smile which caused my smile to widen.

“I was really excited when I saw that we were rooming together.” I nodded my head agreeing with her. She moved to pull my sunglasses off my face and then put them on herself as she turned to look in the mirror. I turned to move my bag off the bed. “I might keep these. They look amazing on me.”

“They do.” I said agreeing with her as I laid down on the bed. “You can’t keep them though. Those are my favorite pair.”

“Are you okay?” she asked as she came over to sit next to me. “You look exhausted.”

“I was up late packing or being irresponsible if you ask Christen.”

“Waiting to the last second to pack is irresponsible.” She stood back up and walked back to the mirror fixing her hair.

“Come on…not you too. I can handle being scolded once and I would prefer being scolded by her than by you. Hurts a little less. When did you pack?” she gave me a sheepish smile and then mumbled her answer. “What was that?”

“Yesterday.” I stared at her for a minute before letting out laugh. “Stop laughing. It wasn’t even funny.”

“No, it’s hilarious that you think you can scold me when you literally did the same thing. I just waited until nighttime to pack.”

“I was probably done packing before you though.” She said as I sat up staring at her with a look of disbelief.

“We are on the same level of irresponsible though.” She turned and walked towards me. I gulped slightly when she stood right in front of me still wearing my sunglasses so I couldn’t see her eyes. She took them off and placed them back on my face. She patted my cheek turning and walking over to her side of the room. I let out a breath and went to the bathroom trying to hide the fact that I was blushing.

I heard the door open and then heard the voices of Allie and Kelley. I groaned a little at the fact that I wasn’t alone with Alex anymore. I walked out of the bathroom and stared at the girls as they both turned towards me.

“Didn’t Christen tell you to take those off? They make you look hungover.” I rolled my eyes and then turned towards Alex who had an amused look on her face.

“You do look hungover.” Allie said as Alex nodded along with both girls. I rolled my eyes again at the statement from the midfielder. I don’t understand why everyone’s go to statement for me is that I look hungover.

“You’re all a bunch of dicks.” I said as I turned towards my bag to grab my training clothes. We were heading straight to training after everyone arrived and so I wanted to be ready to go. “I look awesome.”

I took the glasses off and headed back towards the bathroom to change. When I came out, all three girls were whispering. Alex had a serious look on her face as she listened to whatever Allie and Kelley were saying. She looked at me and gave me a smile. I felt awkward as I stared at them for a moment. I felt like I just got caught eavesdropping even though I didn’t even hear what they were saying.

“You finally look put together.” She teased which caused the other two to look at me. Allie had a panicked look on her face as Kelley just gave me a smile. I furrowed my eyebrows a little and then picked up my sunglasses and placed them back on. I didn’t like the whispering and panicked looks going on because it made me feel like they were talking about me.

“Do you know if JJ is here?” I asked as all three shrugged their shoulders. “I’ll just text her.”

I turned and exited the room heading to find JJ. I sent her a text really quick and grinned when she sent me back a text with her room number. Once I found her room, I knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Christen who rolled her eyes at seeing me. I grinned at the forward entering the room and taking the seat at the desk that was in the room. JJ grinned upon seeing me.

“Hey!” she said with enthusiasm causing me to grin in response. “Chris said you were rooming with Alex. Why are you here?”

“Allie and Kelley are there and they were all whispering about something so I figured I would give them the room.”

“They were probably talking about you.” Christen joked causing me to shake my head. “I’m kidding.”

“I really genuinely feel like I can’t have one conversation with anyone without that being brought up.”

“It’s because we all want you to be happy and we know you guys would be happy together.” Julie said giving me a supportive smile. I shrugged my shoulders sinking in the chair a little. “We won’t bring it up again.”

I waited for both girls to get changed into their training clothes. Once they were done, we all headed down to the lobby to wait to hear for the time we were going to train. More people started making their way down to the lobby until about half the team was there. I was looking at my phone when I felt someone sit on the arm of the chair that I was sitting in. I looked up and saw Alex smiling at me. I moved over so she could sit down in the chair too. She fell into it and looped our arms so she could rest her head down on my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Nothing. Scrolling through twitter. What are you doing?”

“Watching you scroll through twitter.” I chuckled at her a little and then in a move I felt to be too bold. I moved my arm so that it was around her so that she was leaning completely on my side. She didn’t say anything, but she did smile. We sat there for another few minutes before we had to get up to go train.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by until it was time to go to dinner. Crystal and all the girls were all excited because they found some restaurant that had a whole dance floor that you could dance on while you waited. I wasn’t that excited but since all my friends are going then I had to go too.

“This is exciting” JJ said as we entered the restaurant and found a table that was big enough for all of us. I was sat next to Alex and Becky which wasn’t a bad spot to be in. I glanced around and noticed some of the people dancing. It looked like mostly couples which was cute.

“Are you going to dance?” Alex asked me with a half-amused look on her face.

“Probably not.” I said turning to smile at the forward. I heard groans around the table as Sonnett threw a napkin at me.

“You’re such a buzzkill.” She said shaking her head. “Live a little”

“I don’t like dancing.” I said shrugging my shoulders. “I have always been bad at it.”

The waitress soon came and took all our orders. We all sat for a few minutes just talking when the song that was playing changed.

“Ohh this is my song” crystal said standing up and dragging some of the other girls with her. I watched in amusement as they danced and sang together.

“You should go dance with them” Becky said as I shook my head.

“There is not enough money in the world that would get me to go dance.”

Eventually, they all came back and sat down when our food arrived. The conversations continued as we ate our food. As dinner was winding down, I was talking mostly with Alex who found my avoidance of getting out of my seat completely amusing.

“For a professional athlete, you really are lazy.” She said with a grin on her face.

“You’re just as lazy as I am. You made me get up and hand you remote when it was five feet away.”

“That is not true.” She said slapping my arm. “Come on. I want to dance.”

She stood up and grabbed my arm trying to pull me up. I groaned and sank into my seat resisting her hold.

“No. I told you I don’t like dancing.” She gave me a pout and slipped her hand into mine. I closed my eyes trying to resist how fucking adorable she looked.

“Please (Y/N)” she said tugging on my arm. I sighed and stood up letting her drag me to the dance floor. I heard a few snickers behind me and turned and gave them all the middle finger. We got to the dance floor and Alex pulled me closer.

“I don’t know how to dance.” I joked as the forward laughed. She placed my arm around her waist and rested her arm on my shoulder. She brought our hands together and we started swaying to the beat.

“Follow my lead.” She said as she continued to move us around. “You got this.”

I ignored her as I tried to take the lead. I was trying to remember every dance video that I have ever seen someone dance like this. She grinned when I stumbled just a little and let out a laugh when I started blushing.

“You need to work on it. I need you to know how to do this for if we ever get married.” I starred at the forward in shock, but immediately recovered.

“You mean when we get married.” I said putting emphasis on ‘when’. She grinned at me as I twirled her around. She came back with her arm around my neck tightly. I stared at her a moment feeling my breathe get caught in my throat. All it would take is for one of us to lean forward. I stared in her eyes before I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned to see Crystal giving me somewhat of an apologetic look.

“We are heading out. It is getting late and we need to get back to the hotel.” I nodded my head I pulled away from Alex who had a conflicted look on her face. She looked pretty lost in thought as I intertwined our fingers and pulled her back towards where everyone was grabbing their stuff.

The ride back to the hotel was silent from the both of us. We didn’t say a word as we made our way back to our hotel room and got changed for bed. I was lying in bed on my phone when Alex came out of the bathroom drying her hair. She was in pajamas and she looked cute as hell. She came and sat on my bed giving me a look.

“Can I ask you something?” I stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Have you ever been in love?”

I stared at her with wide eyes. I was thankful that I wasn’t drinking or eating because I could’ve spit it out. I felt like a deer in headlights. I opened and closed my mouth a couple times trying to figure out how to respond. I settled on just nodding my head yes not trusting my voice at all.

“I used to think that Servando was it for me…” she pulled her knees to her chest. I immediately placed my phone down and sat up giving her my full attention. “I mean we were together for almost ten years and he cheated on me without a second thought.”

“He was an idiot.” I said giving her a serious look. “Only an idiot would hurt you like that.”

“Okay but like…I was with him for ten years and he cheated. How could I possibly expect someone else to do that? How could I trust that someone else isn’t going to hurt me like that?”

I sat there trying to form a logical sentence. She had a point. What do you do when someone who swore to love you forever breaks your heart and doesn’t even feel sorry for it?

“Not everyone is as shitty as him. Not everyone is out to hurt you or make you feel guilty about living your life like him. You’re going to meet someone and fall in love with them and they are going to love you the way you deserve.” I could love you the way you deserve. She nodded her head, but her eyes welled up with tears. I moved to pull her in my arms and hugged her for a few minutes. “I promise you will get your happy ending Alex.”

She pulled away from the hug and stared at me. For the second time in one night, our faces were inches from each other. She glanced at my lips and it would be so easy to lean forward and kiss her. I took a breath and then pulled back from her and leaned against the headboard. She was vulnerable so it wouldn’t be right for me to make a move when she isn’t in the right state of mind.

“We should get to bed” I said as she nodded. She stood and went to her bed. We turned out the lights and both went to bed. I don’t know how much sleep I would be getting when you consider that I almost kissed Alex Morgan twice in one night. Holy shit. I almost kissed Alex. Twice. She looked like she wanted to kiss me. I am so fucked.

**To be Continued…**


	3. Confessions of the Heart

Alex’s POV:

I woke up feeling like absolute crap. I turned and saw (Y/N) sleeping in her bed still. I noticed that we didn’t really have to be up for another 20 minutes, but I knew I wasn’t going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. I stood and walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I came out, she was still asleep. It was still about five minutes before she had to be up. I grabbed all my stuff quickly and then headed out the door. I walked over to Allie and Kelley’s room and waited for one of them to open the door.

“It’s way too early.” Kelley complained as I walked into the room. Allie was sitting on her bed scrolling on her phone. She smiled at me as I walked in and sat down on her bed.

“I’m having a crisis.” I said as both girls stared at me. They both stared at me expectantly as I tried to gather my thought. “(Y/N) and I almost kissed twice yesterday. The first time Crystal interrupted, and we had to leave that restaurant and the second time she pulled away from me.”

“She pulled away?” Kelley asked with a frown on her face. I nodded my head as she sat down clearly deep in thought. “Why?”

“If I knew that, I don’t think I would be here right now. I thought she was into me because that’s what everyone keeps saying, yet when I try to make something happen, she pulled away.”

“What led to the second one? I know the adorable dancing is what led to the first one.” Allie said as I smiled a little thinking of our dancing.

“That’s another thing!” I exclaimed remembering what she said while were dancing. “I made a joke about if we were to get married and then she said when we get married.”

“Oh, then she is totally into you.” Kelley said shrugging her shoulders

“Then why did she pull away?”

“What were you doing the second time?” Kelley asked again as both girls gave me their full attention.

“We were talking about Servando and I was talking about how on earth I could possibly trust anyone else if he did what he did…” I said as Kelley frowned at me.

“No offense, I don’t think I would want to kiss you either if you had just got done talking about your ex-husband.” Allie said giving me a little grimace. I sat their thinking for a moment about our conversation. “Maybe she just thought it wouldn’t be right to kiss you after you had just got done talking about something so personal…”

“Maybe you just turned her off completely talking about him” Kelley said as I sighed rubbing my hands over my face. “What did she say to you this morning?”

“She was asleep when I left”

“So, now she is probably going think that you’re mad at her because you were gone the moment she woke up. You didn’t think it was important to talk to her?” Kelley gave me a look as I hung my head a little.

“I needed to figure out my thought before I talk to her.”

“You need to talk to her. Look, don’t tell her I told you. If she asks how you found this out, you say Christen told you. Understood?” I nodded my head as Kelley gave me a serious look. “She is so unashamedly unbelievably in love with you.”

“How do you know that?” Allie asked as I looked at her with wide eyes.

“She told me a few weeks ago. Christen and I were at her apartment and she said that she loves you. She is terrified though to make a move on you. She is so afraid to fuck up your friendship that she doesn’t want to take the chance of losing you.”

“That’s stupid. She would never lose me even if I didn’t feel the same.”

“Wait, so are you in love with her too?” Allie asked as she gave me a shocked expression. “Like pause on this whole conversation…I have not heard you specifically say what you feel other than you have feelings for her.”

“I think you need to have this conversation with (Y/N) before you talk about it with us.” Kelley interrupted as Allie frowned and then nodded in agreement. “She deserves to know how you feel especially since we know that she feels the same way as you.”

I groaned knowing she was right. It wasn’t fair for me to know how she feels and know how much she cares about me without me reciprocating on the information.

“Look, playing at Utah has given me a huge chance to get to know (Y/N) and you really couldn’t ask for a better person to love you. As your friend, I couldn’t think of anyone better for you than her. Like, no offense on this, but she could literally have anyone. Have you seen her? She’s hot as fuck and a sweetheart. A literal dream. Yet, she gave you her heart and seriously I don’t think she wants it back.”

I nodded my head as I listened to her go on about how amazing she thought (Y/N) was.

“Jesus, do you want to date her?” I felt irritation crawl up as she abruptly stopped and smiled at me.

“Oh, I already pray for her. You aren’t even together, and the jealousy is already too real.” Allie said as her and Kelley started making jokes about me being jealous. I rolled my eyes as they both started getting ready for the day.

Eventually, we all headed down for breakfast. When we entered the room, I saw (Y/N) sitting in between JJ and Christen which bothered me because I usually sat next to her. She was smiling at something Christen was saying as I sat down at the table next to Ash with Kelley and Allie taking the seats next to me.

“You’re full of crap” (Y/N) said as Christen shook her head. “I don’t believe you for a second.”

“I swear on my life.” She said slapping her hand down on (Y/N)’s arm. “I am not lying!”

“There’s no way that you landed an off the post shot from midfield…who do you think you are? Carli Lloyd?” Christen rolled her eyes as she started explaining that it was just during training.

I felt bothered as (Y/N) didn’t look at me once during breakfast. She spent the entire time talking to Christen, JJ, and Ash. Never once looking in my direction. Once we were finished, I immediately beelined it for her as I caught her arm. She stared at me with uncertainty. I let my hand drop to intertwine our fingers.

“I need to talk to you.” She nodded her head as I tugged on her hand. She resisted slightly pulling her hand back from me.

“Can we talk later? We really need to get to training.” She asked looking away from me. I frowned not wanting to put this talk off, but I knew she was right. I nodded my head as we turned to head off towards the vans to head to training. We still had three send off games to prepare for.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

Training sucked. I was completely off my game because I couldn’t focus. I was too worried about this talk that Alex wanted to have with me. It could go either way at this point. On one hand, we almost kissed twice yesterday which tells me that maybe she feels the same. On the other hand, she was gone when I woke up this morning so maybe she was avoiding me. Maybe this talk is for her to tell me that she wants to just be friends. Okay, to be honest, I really don’t think emotionally I could handle the latter.

I walked into the locker room trying to fight off the frustrated feelings that I was feeling over everything. I was putting some of my stuff away when I felt someone stand next to me. I saw Becky giving me a small smile as she put her hand on my shoulder.

“Take a breather.” I took a deep breath closing my eyes as she squeezed my shoulder in support. “It wasn’t your day. We all have off days.”

“I don’t want to lose my starting spot.” I mumbled as I shoved something else in my bag.

“One bad practice isn’t going to cause you to lose your spot.” She said as I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out the room towards the vans with her.

My relationship with Becky is super important to me. My relationship with the whole team is important, but Becky has become like a big sister to me and I couldn’t be more thankful. She’s one of the only people, other than Alex, who knows about my family situation. We got into the vans as I leaned my head back trying to fight off the anxiety that was threatening to build.

“Want to talk about it?” Becky asked turning towards me. I surveyed the van and saw JJ, Crystal, Mal, Sonnett, Lindsay, and us in it. I shook my head not wanting to talk about my issues in front of so many people. “Want to talk when we get back?”

I nodded my head as we started the drive back to the hotel. I stayed quiet trying to focus my mind on something other than Alex. She really was like a drug to me. I felt myself hurting over not being near her, but the idea of being near her right now was simultaneously stressful. The ride back to the hotel felt like it took years as we finally pulled up. I got out of the van and groaned at the realization that Alex was probably waiting for me back in our room.

“Can we talk in your room?” I asked Becky as she nodded her head. I followed her to her room trying to stay out of sight. Literally any one of them could tell Alex where I was going to be. Once we got to her room, I collapsed into the desk chair and leaned my head back. I jumped slightly when the door opened and sighed in relief when I saw Tierna walk in. She smiled at me as I smiled back at her. “If Alex asks, you have no clue where I am. Got it?”

“Why am I lying to your girlfriend about where you are?” she asked with a slight smile earning a chuckle from Becky. I rolled my eyes at the question.

“Just don’t tell her I am here.” She nodded her head as she went and laid on her bed. Becky gave me an expectant look as I starred at her not wanting to start the conversation.

“Can you explain why you are avoiding Alex? Seems very unlike you.”

“We almost kissed twice yesterday. She wasn’t there when I woke up and now, she wants to talk.” Tierna gave me a wide-eyed expression while Becky nodded her head.

“That’s a problem?” she asked after a moment with a confused expression. “Shouldn’t you be dying to have a conversation?”

“She’s going to tell me she just wants to be friends and I don’t have enough emotional strength for that.”

“Where exactly did you get the idea that she wants to be friends?” Tierna asked giving me an odd look. “From what I have seen, she likes you. I genuinely thought you guys were in love and in a relationship when I first got here.”

“I love her. I am not denying that. I could never say that I am not. I just…I don’t know how to tell her that. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. She means so much to me. I feel like I can’t breathe without her. I feel like I can’t live without her.”

“So, tell her that. Tell her how you feel. She means so much to you and you can’t live without her. Then, tell her exactly how you feel. Do you think you can live forever without her knowing how you feel?”

“I can damn well try.” I said nodding my head sinking in the chair slightly.

“That’s not way to live. You got to live without fear. We don’t know how much time we have on this earth. You should spend it loving the people you want to love and living life with no regrets.” Tierna said giving me a stern look. I frowned feeling like I was being scolded by a baby.

“What she said.” Becky said grinning at the young defender. I shook my head closing my eyes for a moment.

“You’re right. I hate it because I feel like I am being scolded by a child but, you’re right. I need to be honest with her. Even if the thought is terrifying.”

“You’re like four years older than me.” She said giving me a look of irritation earning another laugh from Becky.

“Still your elder.” I said walking out of the room. I walked towards my room with Alex and took a breath before entering the room. I immediately spotted the forward sitting on her bed scrolling on her phone. Her hair was wet indicating that she had just showered. She was wearing a simple tank top and some sweats, but she still took my breathe away. She looked up at me and gave me a small smile. I smiled in return before throwing my bag on the bed.

“Can I shower first?” I said as she opened her mouth. She frowned and then nodded her head as I grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. I tried not to take too long, but I knew that I was still avoiding having the conversation. I exited the bathroom to see her leaning against the headboard with her legs drawn up against her chest as she starred intently at her hands. She looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you done avoiding me?” I scoffed at the question as she smiled at the offended look on my face.

“That’s not what I am doing.” I defended earning a look from the forward. “Okay, I am terrified. Is that what you want to hear?”

“You have no reason to be scared. I just want to talk about some stuff.”

“Can I go first?” I asked as she gave me a surprised look, but then quickly nodded her head. I moved to sit right in front of her with one leg on the bed and one hanging off. I looked up in her eyes and decided that I just needed to speak from the heart.

“I’m in love with you.” I said as her mouth opened slightly in shock. I was trying to fight off the nerves that I was feeling which caused me to let out a shaky breath. “I am so unapologetically in love with you. I think about you all the time. You are my first thought in the morning and my last thought before I go to sleep. I miss you when I am not with you and never want to let you go when we are together. I think about what kind of future we could have and how much my life would suck if you weren’t in it. I love your smile and the way you laugh. Your eyes mesmerize me, and your laugh might just be the most amazing thing I have ever heard behind your voice. Nothing can calm my nerves like your voice. Even in my darkest and lowest moments, you have always remained the bright light in my life. You stole my heart the moment we met and quite frankly I never want it back because there is no one I trust with it more than you. I just…I love you.”

The last part came out slowly as I tried gauge her reaction. She was staring at me intently as both her eyes surveyed my face. Her eyes had started to water at some point and I immediately felt back about making her cry. I wanted to move to comfort her but wasn’t sure if my actions would be wanted so I sat there and waited for her to say something. I was trying to prepare myself for the inevitable rejection when she moved to wipe her tears.

“The first time we ever officially met was the day after my divorce with Servando was finalized. I thought for sure that I wasn’t ever going to be able to move on from it. You were my roommate and I thought you were annoying because you just didn’t seem to care that I was going through something. Then, you started talking to me and you got me to open up about everything so easily. Some of my closest friends still have trouble getting me to be open and honest. You did it with ease though. You made me laugh for the first time in months that night. I was sad when the night ended because I could have spent a thousand more hours just talking to you. I didn’t realize it, but you became my safe place. In that one night, I trusted you more than most people in my life. As time has gone on, I have needed you more and more. I don’t think I know how to get through life without you anymore. I’ve been trying to push it away because I didn’t want to accept what I have known for a while and that is that…I love you”

I started tearing up towards the end of her speech and shook my head slightly as I tried to stop myself from crying. It was extremely tense in the room as we both waited for each other to make the first move. I stopped for a moment and starred at her. Her eyes were still watering slightly as she gave me a small smile to show that she was being genuine. I nodded my head as I released another shaky breath.

“Fuck it.” I mumbled as I surged forward cupping her jaw and pulling her in for a kiss. Both of her hands went to my face as she immediately responded to the kiss. I groaned as my leg started to cramp up given all my weight was resting on it. So, I moved pulling her with me so that I was sitting with my legs hanging off the bed, and she was on top of me. She let out a little squeal at that as her hands gripped my neck. She rested her forehead against mine as I nuzzled her nose slightly. She ran her thumbs across my cheek as we starred into each other’s eyes. I leaned forward giving her another kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck. My arms tightened around her waist as we smiled into the kiss. She pulled back with a grin on her face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She smiled softly as I gave her another kiss. “What does this mean for us?”

“I want to be with you.” She said without hesitation. She gave me a serious look as I nodded my head in agreement. “I’m serious about not knowing how to live without you.”

I stood with her in my arms and then softly dropped her onto the floor. She found her footing as we stood in front of each other.

“Alex Morgan, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?” I asked with a hopeful smile. “I’d ask you on a date, but to be honest I have waited an extremely long time for this moment.”

She let out a laugh as she cupped my face in her hands. She leaned her forehead against mine again and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes.

“(Y/N) (Y/LN), I would love to be your girlfriend.” She said as I grinned leaning forward and giving her another kiss. I pulled her in for a hug kissing her forehead as the forward gave me a kiss on the side of my neck. “God, this conversation really couldn’t have gone better.”

“I know right?” I said as I pulled back from her getting an amused smile from my girlfriend. “I’m just glad we got all the emotional turmoil and longing out of the way before the World Cup started.”

She shook her head at me before we heard banging on the door. I groaned as she laughed at me moving to open the door. She opened it to reveal Kelley and Mal standing there.

“We were elected to make sure you guys hadn’t killed each other.” Kelley said shrugging her shoulders as she entered the room.

“Why would we kill each other?” I asked with confusion evident on my face.

“No one knew how this conversation was going to go.” Mal said as she looked back and forth between Alex and I

“I wasn’t worried. You have both admitted to being in love with each other at some point to me.” Kelley said crossing her arms with a smug look on her face.

“Wait…what?” I said as I looked to Alex hoping she would play along. She must have understood as her eyes widened while looking at me. “You admitted what?”

“You said you just wanted to be friends?” Alex said with a fake serious look on her face. “Why would you lie?”

“I thought you didn’t feel the same!” I said putting out my arms in defense trying to keep it together. “Why didn’t you just say something?”

Mal’s eyes had widened looking back and forth between Alex and I again with a more alarmed look. Kelley had a scared expression on her face as she kept opening and closing her mouth clearly trying to come up with something to say.

“You guys haven’t talked yet?” she said with a concerned and guilty expression on her face.

“That’s the best you could do?” I asked as I turned towards her. “You just told us we are in love with each other without making sure we have talked first and that’s the best you could come up with?”

“I thought that you guys would have talked first. She said she was going to talk to you as soon as she could!” The defender said throwing her arms up. “How was I supposed to know that you two are idiots who don’t know how to properly deal with your feelings?”

“Okay, first of all, ouch. That hurts. Second of all, we are just messing with you.” Alex said as she came closer to me wrapping her arms around me giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Of course, we talked as soon as we could.”

“Well, as soon as I had enough courage to come back to our room” I said as the forward nodded her head at me.

“You guys are psychopaths.” Mal said as she rubbed her temples. “I am not kidding. I thought that we had just ruined everything between you guys.”

“Wait…so does this mean you guys are together?” Kelley asked with an excited smile. I looked to Alex who gave me a soft smile while nodding her head. She leaned in and gave me a kiss. “I am going to tell everyone. That’s cool with you guys right?” We both nodded our head as she grabbed Mal and yanked her out of the room.

“How long you think until we are bombarded by people?” she asked turning towards me wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Five minutes tops” I said getting a laugh from her. “I love your laugh.”

“I know. You might have mentioned it in your super sweet speech about how much you love me. Though, my speech was better.” I rolled my eyes at the girl letting go of her. She kissed my check before turning away from me.

“It’s not a competition Alex.” I said as the forward headed towards the bathroom.

“Yes, it is!” she yelled over her shoulder. I shook my head at her antics smiling about what a dork she was. My dork. My girlfriend. I did a little fist pump as I thought about the fact that she was finally my girlfriend. After all this time, she is finally mine and I have no intention of ever letting her go. To think, this is just the beginning of what is sure to be the wildest summer I have ever had. 

**To Be Continued…**


	4. A Date to Remember

Alex’s POV:

I watched in amusement as (Y/N) continued looking at her phone. Everyone was trying not to laugh as her eyes continued widening while staring.

“You got to be kidding me?” she groaned as she continued scrolling on her phone. “You couldn’t have given me a warning?”

“Why is she flipping shit?” Kelley asked as she walked into the room, we were all in. We had the day off tomorrow, so it was mainly trying to figure out what we were going to do. We got sidetracked by me showing (Y/N) my pictures from my photoshoot that I did not long ago.

“Alex’s sports illustrated just came out and I don’t think she was ready.” Pinoe said motioning to where (Y/N) was taking deep breaths. “Are you good yet?”

“I’m fine.” She said turning towards me. “You’re just so fucking beautiful. Like, holy shit”

I grinned at her as she leaned forward kissing me. I reciprocated immediately as she leaned her forehead against mine. I guess you could say we are still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, but it also feels like nothing has changed. We are still as affectionate and spend as much time as we were before we got together, but now we do more stuff together. Like kiss…a lot. I think it might be my new favorite thing to do.

“Okay hey guys…” Allie said pulling the back of my shirt as I turned towards her. “We are still here.”

“I know” (Y/N) said giving me another kiss as I smiled at the girl. “You clearly haven’t seen these pictures. I am literally the luckiest person on the planet. Like, no competition I got the most beautiful girl on the planet.”

“Gosh I am so happy you guys are together. It was nightmare trying to navigate you two before.” Ash said as I shook my head at her. “No do not shake your head…you have no idea what it was like having to listen to both of you pine over each other.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing that we are together now.” (Y/N) said throwing her arm around me as I turned and kissed her cheek.

Everyone fell into their own conversations as I turned to lean against (Y/N). I intertwined our fingers and smiled at how nice it felt to finally get to be like this with her. I don’t think I realized exactly how strongly I felt about her until we were actually together. I don’t know how I managed to get through life before because it seems almost impossible to be away from her now.

“I love you” I mumbled closing my eyes slightly.

“I love you too beautiful” she said kissing my forehead.

“Okay real talk…any ideas for how to spend the day tomorrow?” Allie asked looking around the room. (Y/N) and I both shrugged our shoulders as everyone started throwing ideas out there.

“Why do we have to do something as a group?” (Y/N) asked with a look of confusion on her face. “I mean…we are literally going to be spending the next month together…”

“Do you not want to hang out?” Kelley asked giving her a look of offense.

“I just had other ideas of how I wanted to spend my day.” She said shrugging her shoulders.

“Like what?”

“Like…taking my girlfriend on a date.” She said as I sat up and looked at her. She gave me a small smile. “I mean…I know I said I was skipping the asking you out, but I would like to actually take you on a date.”

“I would love to.” I said turning towards everyone else in the room that was smiling at us. “Count us out of whatever you guys are doing tomorrow.”

“I just know that I am going to grow to hate you two.” Allie said as she turned to Kelley talk about what they were going to do the next day. I smiled as (Y/N) stood up and reached for my hand. She pulled me up as we said our goodnights to everyone and headed back to our room. We quickly got ready for bed and I pouted when (Y/N) got into her own bed. She rolled her eyes opening her arms as I made my way into her bed and cuddled up to her.

“Keep this up and you’ll never be able to detach.” She said with an amused grin. I looked up at her and kissed her. I gripped her jaw keeping her in place as I deepened the kiss. Her hands went to my waist and I couldn’t help but push myself up so that I was in her lap. She pulled away and immediately started placing kisses on my neck. The action got a moan from me which caused her to smile slightly. I knew if we kept this up it would get way too heated so, I pushed my hand against her chest as I pulled away.

“We need to do that more often.” She said trying to catch her breath. I smiled and nodded my head at her statement. I moved so that I could lay my head down on her shoulder.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She said kissing my forehead and moving to shut the light off.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

I woke up with Alex firmly in my arms. The last few days have been extremely blissful since we got together. I couldn’t be happier. Like, I knew being in a relationship with her was going to be amazing, but this has been like a dream come true. I keep waiting for the moment where someone says that it was all one big joke and that she doesn’t actually feel the same. I know it’s not going to happen, but I still get worried that she is going to change her mind about me.

“You’re thinking too loud.” Alex mumbled turning her head to look at me. I smiled at her and ran my fingers down her arm that was wrapped around my waist. “Want to talk about it?”

“I’m good. Just thinking about you.” I said earning a smile from the forward. She kissed my jaw and tightened her grip on me.

“Too sweet.”

“We should get up.” I said causing her to groan in response. “We have a date to go on.”

That caused her to sit up slightly which gave me my chance to stand up and get out of bed. I smiled at her when she pouted at me. I went to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. When I came out, the forward was on a facetime call. I immediately recognized the voice of her mother.

“Yeah. I am excited to see you guys too.” Alex said smiling at the phone. She glanced up at me and grinned when I blew her a kiss.

“Who’s there? Is that (Y/N)? Let me talk to her.” Her mother said as I moved to take the phone from the forward before she could react.

“Hi Pam” I grinned at my girlfriends’ mother. Alex gave me a look as I sat down on the bed. “How are you?”

“I am well. How are you (Y/N)?”

“I’m good. Just enjoying life. Hey, how did those gardening classes go?” I asked remembering the last time I had talked to the woman she had mentioned taking gardening classes.

“Oh my gosh! They were amazing. I’m going to have share some tips with you. I know you talked about wanting to do a garden with strawberries. Apparently, it’s all about the kind of soil you use.” I nodded my head as we continued talking for a few minutes. The look on Alex’s face was priceless as she listened to me talk to her mother.

“Yeah we will have to check out that farmers market the next time we have free time.” I said nodding my head at her. “I got to get ready, but here’s Alex.”

I handed the phone back to Alex who was giving me an odd look. She talked to her mom for a few minutes before hanging up. She looked at me as I laughed at her expression.

“Since when are you buddy-buddy with my mom?” she asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Alex, I’ve been in love with you for two years. Any chance I had to talk to your mom and get her love me so that if we ever did date, I’d be solid with your family I took.” She had a look of disbelief on her face as I grinned at her. “Come on” I said clapping my hands together. “We got to go soon. I have a day of things I’d like to do you with you.”

She stood and headed towards the bathroom as I changed into my clothes for the day. I had on jeans and a simple white t-shirt and my sunglasses that Christen claims make me look hungover. When Alex came out of the bathroom to get dressed, I fixed my hair and came out to see Alex fixing her hair in the mirror. She was wearing a white crop-top with some striped pants. I grinned at her as she put her purse over her shoulder.

I offered her my hand as we walked out of the room and down to the lobby. As we were heading towards the lobby exit, I heard someone call out Alex’s name. I turned and saw Kelley and Allie walking towards us.

“Hey, we are going to join you guys actually.” Kelley said as I frowned.

“No.” I said getting frowns from the other two girls as Alex looked at me and then to them. “I am taking her on a date.”

“I know, but everyone else is busy.” Allie said as her frown deepened.

“That falls under not my problem.” I said as Kelley gave me a look and Alex crossed her arms at both girls.

“Come on! You won’t even know we are there.”

“Why can’t you go with anyone else? Or by yourselves?”

“Everyone else is off doing their own thing. We didn’t want to join them. Come on let us go with you guys.”

“What part of I am taking her on a date do you not get?”

“You need us with you anyway.” Allie said giving me a look.

“How do you figure that?” I asked crossing my arms at the midfielder.

“Because if everyone just sees you guys together, they will know immediately that you are dating. If we are there, then it just looks like friends hanging out.”

I gave her a look of disbelief as Alex sighed. She looked between Kelley and Allie who both gave her hopeful looks. I could tell immediately that they were appealing to her because they knew she would say yes. I could already feel my jaw clench when Alex turned towards me.

“They’re not wrong.” She said with a small frown

“Unbelievable.” I mumbled as I closed my eyes trying to fight back the irritation. “Fine. Let’s go.”

The car ride to the store that I had planned on taking Alex too was silent from the both of us. Allie and Kelley were in the back talking to each other about something I really didn’t care about. I was trying not to be irritated with them because I get wanting to hangout with each other, but today was also important because it was Alex and I’s first date. I don’t think I am upset with anyone in particular just the situation.

“We’re here.” I said as we got out. I quickly paid for the three-hour parking spot as we headed in the direction of the store. We walked in and I groaned as Kelley and Allie immediately dragged Alex to one part of the store that they liked. I stood there for a moment feeling the irritation crawl back up. After a few minutes, Allie and Kelley went to try some of the stuff on. Alex immediately grabbed my hand dragging me into one of the dressing rooms.

“I am sorry.” She said as I shook my head. “I wasn’t expecting them to not find something else to do.”

“It’s fine.” I mumbled rubbing my temples. She took my face into her hands as I clenched my jaw.

“You say that, but I can see the anger all over your face.” She said as I closed my eyes.

“Yeah I am irritated. This is literally supposed to be our first date. I wanted to spend today with you and only you. Don’t get me wrong I love Allie and Kelley, but it was supposed to be our day.”

“What can I do to make this better?” she asked as I sighed and shook my head.

“I’m not mad at you.”

“Again, you say that…”

“Alex” I said as she frowned at me. “Can we please talk about this later?”

“No, I don’t want to leave this unresolved.”

“Okay, but they are going to come look-” I was interrupted my banging on the door. Alex opened the door and we saw Kelley giving us a sheepish smile. I turned to Alex who gave me another frown.

“Hey, I am really sorry about crashing your guys date. If you want, I can try to drag Allie to some other stores so you guys can have some alone time…I should be able to keep her occupied for a little while”

“I would love that” Alex said getting a thumbs up from Kelley. “I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t” she yelled back as I watched her approach Allie and then drag her out of the store.

Alex turned back to me with a smile. I raised my eyebrow at her as her smiled widened.

“See!” she said hugging me. “It worked out!”

“This just means we will have to meet up with them later.”

“At least we have some alone time now though.” She gave me a small kiss as I leaned my forehead against hers. “I am really sorry”

“It’s not your fault.” I mumbled as she kissed me on the lips.

“I’m still sorry.” She said as I dropped my head to her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist holding her close. “Was this our first fight as a couple?” I pulled back and gave her a confused look as I thought about it.

“Oh my god…I think it was.” I said as she grinned at me. “Jesus…”

“We handled that like champs.” She said as I shook my head at her. I moved to pull her out of the dressing room and tried to look elsewhere as we got weird looks from people. She tried to hide her smile as she then dragged me out of the store. “Where to next?”

We continued all the things that I had planned for us to do. We went into to a couple more stores before we eventually found our way to a restaurant. Kelley had texted Alex letting her now that Allie was now actively looking for us. I rolled my eyes at that.

“What is her issue? Has she always been like this and I just didn’t notice?” I asked as we sat down waiting for the two other girls to show up.

“She has always been like this.” Alex said with an amused look as I grimaced. We ordered our food and the food for the girls and sat there talking when they finally showed. Kelley sat down first as Allie proceeded to tell a story about a prank they played on some guy on the street. Our food arrived shortly after and we all started eating.

“Well done” Allie said to me as I furrowed my brows at her.

“What?”

“You found a place that is vegan friendly” she said smiling at me as I nodded my head.

“Yeah, I made sure it was vegan friendly when I checked yesterday when I was planning our date.”

“So sweet.” Alex said giving me a wink as I smiled at her.

“Yeah and there’s an ice cream place not too far that is also vegan friendly…if you want to check it out.”

Alex nodded her head as Kelley started talking about what the next few weeks looked like for our schedules.

“Once we are done with the send-off games, we will go to New York for that big media day thing and then to London and then to France after that.” I said remembering when Becky had told me about the schedule.

“These next few weeks are going to be hell” Kelley mumbled as Alex and me both nodded. Once we were done eating, we walked around for a little bit before going to that ice cream place. We got some ice cream and then walked around a bit more before leaving and heading back to the hotel.

Once we departed from Kelley and Allie, we laid down in my bed. I had my head resting on her leg as she ran her fingers through my hair.

“I had a fun time today.” She said scratching my scalp lightly. “I know it didn’t go as planned, but it was a lot of fun getting to spend time with you.”

“Yeah I had a good time too.” I said rolling so I could look at her face. She gave me a small smile.

“A successful first date.”

“And may there be many more…” I joked getting a laugh from her.

“We are okay right?”

“Yeah, I promise I am fine. I was just mad at the time. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I apologized feeling bad that she thought I was mad at her.

“No, I just felt bad because I know you planned the whole day for us.” She said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I just wanted a day with you and I technically got that.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Come on…let’s get into pajamas and watch Netflix or something.” She said as I stood and moved to change into pajamas. Once we were back to laying down, we cuddled into each other and turned on a movie to watch. I was enjoying the relaxing time with her because I knew the next few weeks were going to be extremely hectic and the amount of alone time we are going to get is probably going to dwindle. I guess we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for us.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Injuries and a Little Background

(Y/N) POV:

It was finally the first send-off of three games, and I couldn’t be more pumped to get to play today. Things have been a little chaotic lately with trying to start preparing to for the tournament and everything, but I can’t complain now that we are here.

A little update on Alex and me, things have been…good. Between us, everything is perfect with her and our relationship. With everyone else, not so much. I don’t know what it is about our relationship that is just irking the fuck out of Allie Long, but it is starting to really piss me off. Every chance that I get to have alone with Alex that isn’t first thing in the morning or us going to sleep, Allie has crashed. It was funny at first having her around all the time, but now not so much.

“What’s got you thinking so hard?” JJ asked as I focused back up. I looked at her and Crystal who were both giving me somewhat amused looks. Currently, I was sat at a table wit JJ, Crystal, Alyssa, Becky, and them instead of sitting with Alex. Apparently, there wasn’t enough space mainly because Allie refused to move over.

“Nothing really…” I mumbled eating some of my breakfast.

“Really? Because you look like you could burn a whole in Allie’s head.” Alyssa said getting laughs from everyone at the table. I frowned and shook my head slightly.

“I am not one to believe that you have to be with your significant other all the time. However, I would also like to spend all my time with Alex.” I complained earning more amused grins from everyone.

“Who knew you would be like a little puppy in love?” Becky joked as I glared at the defender. I looked down at my phone when it vibrated. I had a message from Alex telling me I looked cute. I looked up at the forward who blew me a kiss which got me to smile slightly.

“Wouldn’t you just love to have the power of Alex Morgan?” Crystal asked as everyone nodded. “The power she has over you is just fascinating.”

“I’m so sorry I want to keep her happy. What do they say? Happy wife, happy life.”

“She’s not your wife.” Tierna said with a mouth full of food.

“Not yet.” I mumbled earning a few surprised looks. “Relax. I am not planning on proposing. It’s been like a week.”

“I was going to say…” JJ said with an amused smile on her face as I rolled my eyes.

“I hate all of you.”

Once we were finished with our breakfast I immediately stood and made my way towards Alex. She smiled at me as I got to her and immediately pulled her into me. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as she buried her face into my shoulder.

“Are you guys done?” Allie said crossing her arms at us. “We got to go.”

I pulled away from Alex and glared at the midfielder who seemed to match my stare. She looked to Alex and motioned for the forward to follow. Alex sighed clearly not liking being in the middle of Allie and I again. I backed down and let her go as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m going to kill Allie Long.” I mumbled as Kelley chuckled at my expression.

“No, you’re not.” Christen said as I walked with her and Kelley. “That would make Alex really sad and we all know you don’t want that.”

“You know…this using Alex against me bullshit thing is getting really fucking tiring.” I said getting looks from both girls.

“Allie is just worried about Alex.” Kelley said shrugging her shoulders. “She knows what Alex has been through and she doesn’t want to see her hurt again.”

“You do realize you’re implying that I would hurt her.”

“I don’t think you’re going to hurt her. At least not anymore.”

“Anymore?” I paused looking to the defender who gave me a frown. “I’d like to know when there was a time when you did think I was going to hurt her…”

“Look, it’s not personal to you…but like you have a really unpredictable personality. Sometimes your shy and sweet and I have no doubts whatsoever…other times you’re a dick. You’re mean and you act like an asshole or better terms that you can understand a fuckboy.”

“What the fuck?” I said looking at her and then to Christen who was shaking her head at Kelley.

“That’s terrible word choice.” Christen said turning towards me. “You are a little whatever sometimes. The part about flipping back and forth between a sweetheart and a complete jerk is true though.”

“The only person you are consistently nice to is Alex which is why I am not nervous about you hurting her. I think she’s in great hands with you, but that is also because I have gotten to know you a lot. Allie hasn’t and she doesn’t know what to think about you.”

I frowned as we continued walking towards the buses. Once we got on, I sat with Becky who gave me a slightly concerned look upon seeing my face.

“Are you okay?”

“Am I a jerk?” I asked with real concern as the defender’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Sometimes…you can be a little mean. Why?”

“Do you think I would ever hurt Alex?” There seemed to be some sort of understanding as she immediately shook her head.

“I don’t think you’re physically capable of hurting her. I don’t think you would ever intentionally hurt her.”

“So, by accident then?”

“It’s naïve to think we would never hurt the people we love. Things happen and things get said that we don’t necessarily mean. So, maybe by accident because I don’t think you could prevent that, but never on purpose.”

“Allie thinks I am going to hurt her…or she’s not sure that I won’t hurt her.”

“Allie knows a few things about you…she’s never taken the time to know who you are as a person. She only knows what other people tell her and the way you behave, but I don’t think your behavior is an indicator that you would hurt Alex.”

I nodded my head and then rested it on her shoulder. I understand her point but it, kind of hurts to think that one of Alex’s best friends thinks that I would ever actually hurt her. I know I am not perfect and sometimes I do stupid things, but I would never intentionally try to hurt any of the people I care about. It’s kind of why I have a small inner circle of people I trust. The bus ride to the stadium seemed to fly by as we quickly got there and got our stuff settled. It didn’t take long for us to go out and do warmups.

“Can I talk to you later?” I asked Allie who gave me a skeptical look as we were warming up. “It’s important.”

“What’s it about?” she asked continuing her stretches.

“Alex.” I said as she nodded her a head a little. I went off continuing my warm-ups and smiled slightly when I ended up next to the forward.

“Looking good.” I joked earning a smile from her. She rolled her eyes at me as she ran continued doing her thing. Once our warm-ups were done, we went back to the locker room and got ourselves ready for the game. After the national anthem and huddle, the game quickly started. We went up a goal in the 32nd minute after Sam scored which was amazing. Half-time quickly came and went and we were back out for the second half.

It was about the 60th minute when things seemed to go wrong for me. I was going for the ball at the same time as a South African player who missed and stepped on my foot. I felt a sharp pain as I fell to the ground holding my foot. I laid there for a moment as I felt some of my teammates surround me. I stared down at my foot trying to move it and grimacing at the pain I was feeling.

The medical staff made their way out onto the field and assessed me before deciding it was better that I get checked out. Jill then subbed me out for Sonnett as I made my way to the locker room. They told me they wanted to run some extra tests most importantly an x-ray to make sure nothing was broken. They decided to take me right away to be assessed and then they would take me to the hotel after. This should be good.

**Alex POV Switch**

I couldn’t help, but let the worry take over me as I paced around the locker room. We had already been told that (Y/N) had been limping and that she was being taken to get some tests done to see how bad it was exactly.

“You need to relax.” Allie said getting up and standing in front of me. “I’m sure she will be fine. I’ve never met anyone more stubborn than her.”

“I know. I just…we are so close to the world cup and if she is badly injured enough that she can’t go then she is going to be so devastated.”

“Okay let’s not go there.” Becky said motioning for me to take a breath. Though, I could see the worry in her eyes. I looked around and could see a few people with a little bit of tension in their shoulders. Most notable, Christen, Kelley, and Tierna. “Allie’s right. (Y/N) is extremely stubborn so I doubt she is going to let a minor injury keep her from this roster.”

I nodded my head as I moved to get my stuff together. Once we were all ready to go, we headed to the bus. I had already tried texting (Y/N), but she wasn’t answering her phone. We got back to the hotel and all got settled.

“Do you think she’s okay? Like, has anyone spoken to her?” Mal asked looking around at everyone

“She hasn’t answered anyone’s messages” I said with a solemn look on my face.

“I’m not going to lie…I will flip shit if she is ruled out of the tournament.” Pinoe said looking around at everyone. “Like, I love all of you so much….every single person on this team, especially (Y/N).”

“I’m with you on that. We need her.” Kelley said looking in Pinoe’s direction.

“I mean it’s not detrimental to our team if she doesn’t go…” Allie said as I rolled my eyes.

“Of course not, but she is one of the more game changing players on the team…it would be like if Sam or Rose were to be injured. God, Jill might lose it though…” Christen said earning nods from everyone. (Y/N) was one of the ‘one’s to watch’ players that the general public seemed to be excited about. It would definitely be a small hit for our media team.

It wasn’t long before the door opened and in came (Y/N) on crutches. Becky and them immediately stood to help her but she shrugged everyone off as she sat down on the bed putting her foot up. Her foot was in a boot and she looked mildly irritated. I moved closer to her taking a seat next to her as she gave me a small smile. I could tell that no one wanted to ask, but we needed to know what the injury was.

“So…” Pinoe mumbled looking at her “Your foot is in a boot…”

“Really? I didn’t notice…”

“What’s the word?” Christen asked giving (Y/N) a look of concern.

“Grade two-foot sprain.” She said looking down at her foot. “It will take anywhere from two to four weeks to heal. That’s if it heals the way it is supposed to.” There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief as there were a few smiles around the room. Two to four weeks wasn’t ideal, but it did mean that her foot should be healed by the time we reach our first game.

“Okay well that’s not great that your foot is sprained, but you should be healed by the first game so head up” Becky said as (Y/N) nodded at her statement.

Eventually, everyone left, and it was us two. I looked at her as she opened her arms for me to lay in. I laid down and looked up at her. Her jaw was clenched which told me she was upset, but she was looking down at our fingers that were intertwined.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly as she looked towards me. Her eyes were shining slightly so, I leaned up to give her a kiss.

“It just sucks…I hate being injured.” She mumbled wiping away a tear. I nodded my head at her and let her vent about it. “I want to play. I’ve been playing the best I have ever had…and now I am injured.”

“Our first game isn’t until the 11th which means you have plenty of time to heal and be ready for the tournament.”

“I know” she said looking to me. It was odd watching her be so vulnerable considering that it wasn’t usually her style. I knew how much she loathed talking about her own problems which is why not many people knew the extent of her background. The only person that I know of that knows the full extent of what she’s been through is Becky. Not even I knew everything about her. “You’re going to be okay. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

“Thank you” she gave me a kiss as I laid my head back down on her shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too” I cuddled further into her not wanting there to be much space, but also trying to be mindful of her foot. It wasn’t long before we both seemed to drift off into sleep.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

It has been a few days since I injured myself. I haven’t been allowed to do much physical activity other than lifting some weights, though I have to be sitting to do so. The swelling has gone down a little and Dawn said I could probably get back to doing some light training in a few days so that was a plus. To occupy my time while everyone is training, I have decided to watch film on all the people we might face during the tournament. I have watched as much as I can on Thailand, Chile, Sweden, and have started making my way through potential opponents including Spain, France, Brazil, England, and Australia.

“This looks like fun.” I turned to see Tierna walking in giving me a small and unsure smile. “Can I join you?”

I motioned for her to come in and have a seat with me. The media room really was just a conference room with a bunch of chairs, so I had my foot up and was leaned back in one of the chairs. The young defender sat down next to me as she watched the footage of Spain that I was watching.

“What are the odds of us facing Spain?” she asked as I wrote down some more information about them.

“Very High.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Spain is in a group with Germany, China, and South Africa. Based off their footage I’ve been watching, it’s highly likely they will beat China and South Africa so they will make knockouts. If they lose to Germany, then we will play them.”

“If they beat Germany?” she asked as I looked over at her with a skeptical look.

“Well, if Germany loses to Spain, but beats China and South Africa, then we face Germany.” She shook her head clearly not liking that scenario.

“That doesn’t sound great.” I chuckled at her reaction and nodded my head in agreement.

“Why aren’t you in training?” I asked giving her a confused look.

“Had a hard fall and landed on my ankle awkwardly…they want me to take a day.” I nodded my head as we sat in silence for a few moments.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did.” She rolled her eyes at me as I smiled brightly at her. “What’s up?”

“How did you know that you made the right decision to go pro?” she asked as I turned to look at her. I knew she had been skeptical on going pro, but she seemed pretty happy about the decision. I paused the footage we were watching and thought about it for a second.

“Honestly, I didn’t. I thought I made a mistake when I went pro. My college years weren’t great. When I decided to go pro, I thought I was going to fail and then I went in the top 10 to FCKC which was amazing. I won a championship and I got to train under the likes of Lauren Holiday and Erika Tymrak. I got to play alongside Becky Sauerbrunn which as you know is kind of life changing. Won another championship a year later which further solidified in my mind that I made a good decision, but for that first season I was really unsure. Things still weren’t great in my life but playing gave me the release that I needed, and I had some pretty good teammates.”

“Were you mad when you got traded away from FCKC?”

“I was pissed.” I quickly responded getting a laugh from her. “I was so mad. I begged them to reconsider, but they were convinced on the trade. They swapped me for Sydney Leroux which in hindsight is a fantastic trade, but it didn’t feel that great. I cried to Becky about it because I didn’t want to leave. I loved my teammates so much and I loved the Kansas City fans. Then, I won a championship with New York and that was great. I didn’t really like all of my teammates though. Then, we moved to North Carolina and lost in 2017 and I decided I was done. At that point, I had been on the national team for a year, so I had earned a little leverage for myself. I asked for a trade.”

“Were you hoping for Orlando?” she teased slightly earning a small smile from me.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had gone to Orlando…” I said smiling at her. “I probably would have lost it. If I had gotten to play with Alex…it would have been over for everyone because I hate seeing her upset so I would have done everything to win…I remember being told about the trade though. Heather O’reilly’s rights for me. When I tell you I almost threw a party for myself because I was getting traded to Utah…it was good for me though because I was back with almost all of my FCKC teammates. I’ve been told my reunion with Becky was everything and playing with Christen and Kelley has been awesome too.”

“You and Christen are friendship goals.” I rolled my eyes at the statement.

“She gets on my nerves.”

“Yeah, but she’s your best friend so, it be like that sometimes…” I almost gave myself whiplash with how fast I turned my head to look at her.

“Christen Press is not my best friend.” I said as she laughed at my reaction. I shook my head.

“Besides Alex and Becky, you talk to her the most.” She argued as my eyes widened. “She knows more than almost anyone I have seen about you. Also, you guys literally talk and tell each other secrets all the time.”

I thought about it for a moment about how for the most part she was making sense. I think she could tell I was thinking about it because she started laughing as I rolled my eyes at her and crossed my arms.

“She’s not my best friend…” I whined with a small pout earning a bigger laugh from the young defender. We both turned our heads when the door opened. There before us was Mal and Lindsay coming in with smiles on their faces.

“We heard laughter and wanted to join.” Mal said as they entered and took seats next to Tierna and I. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Someone is in denial about being best friends with Christen…” I glared at the defender as the other two let out laughs.

“You guys are totally best friends.”

“She is not my best friend.” I argued glaring at the three. “I have a best friend and it is not Christen. Do I love her to death? For sure. Is she my best friend? Hell no.”

“Who is your best friend?” Lindsay asked giving me a confused look. “I never hear you talking about the people in your life.”

“I have two. Sebastian and Santiago. They’re brothers that I grew up with.” I said trying to hide my discomfort at being asked about the people in my life.

“That’s cool. You grew up in California, right?” I nodded my head trying to maintain my composure. I wasn’t one for sharing my personal life with people and even though I trusted everyone on this team so much and loved them so much I wasn’t one to talk about my childhood and stuff like that.

I felt relief when the door opened and in walked Alex, Allie, and Kelley. I grinned at the forward getting an adorable smile in return from her. She walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss before sitting in the chair next to me.

“How was practice?” I asked to everyone who all smiled in return.

“It was good, would’ve been better if you were there…” Kelley said as I nodded my head.

“Trust me, I wish I could’ve been there.”

“When do you get to train again?”

“A couple days. The swelling has gone down for the most part, and so they are just giving me a couple days before I start getting into it again.”

“I can’t wait…you’ve been so antsy these last couple of days…” Alex joked as I shook my head at her. She smiled at me as everyone laughed in return. Everyone started a conversation about training as I sat and listened. I watched each of them talk and almost jumped out of my seat when I made eye contact with Allie who had a concentrated look on her face as she stared at me. I raised an eyebrow at her before she started typing something on her phone.

I glanced down when my own phone beeped. I saw I had a message from her asking me to talk. I nodded my head and moved to stand. Alex moved to stand with me when I shook my head at her. Allie stood as well and moved to exit the room as I walked behind her.

“We’ll be back” I didn’t wait for a response as we exited the room and walked for a minute or so before finding a seating area and sitting.

“So…” I said as she crossed her arms at me.

“I think I owe you an apology.” My mouth dropped in surprise as I clearly was not expecting that. “I don’t think I have been completely fair to you.”

“I…wait what?” she let out a laugh at my shocked response as she elaborated.

“I just realized after talking with Kelley and Christen that maybe I wasn’t being fair to you. I care a lot about Alex, and I know what she went through with Servando and there are just some things that I see in you that I saw in him, but I realized that you guys are completely different people. The love be had for her doesn’t come close to the love you have for her. I think part of my issue is that I know nothing really about you when it comes to your background and that freaked me out because at the very least, I knew a ton of things about him. Listen, I just…I’m sorry, and I wish I could take everything back including crashing your and Alex’s first date.”

“That was really shitty.”

“I know and I regret it. I’m sorry and I hope we can sort of start over.”

“Of course, we can…I’m sorry too by the way. Maybe I was a bit quick to get irritated with you over Alex. I do know how much you care about her and I would never want to jeopardize your friendship”

She gave me a smile as she leaned in to hug me. I sat there in surprise and awkwardly hugged her back. We then stood and made our way back into the media room with the other girls. Alex had a worried look, but then smiled when she saw Allie and I smiling.

“Are you guys back to being friends now?” Kelley asked looking up from her phone and putting it down.

“I think so.” I joked as I sat down next to Alex who immediately leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Good. We were just talking about how you and Christen are best friends…” Kelley said getting giant grins from everyone. I groaned and rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms with a pout on my face.

“She’s not my best friend…” I whined again as Kelley mocked my pout.

“I’m telling her you said that.”

“Tell her. I don’t care.” I challenged earning a mischievous grin from the defender who immediately pulled her phone up and dialed a number.

“Hello” I heard Christens voice through the phone. “What do you want Kelley?”

“I need to tell you something. (Y/N) said you aren’t her best friend.” She gave me a pointed look as I leaned back into Alex a little.

“Okay…and?” I laughed at the disbelief on Kelly’s face.

“I….I thought you would be a little more offended.” I heard a scoff on the other line from the forward which caused me to grin.

“I’m not. We aren’t best friends…probably never will be.” I nodded my head in agreement at the forwards words ignoring all the shocked expressions from everyone in the room. “I have to go. Goodbye Kelley.”

“I am at a loss for words.” Mal said looking at me as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Told you.”

“I stand behind my thought that you’re a psychopath.” Tierna said as I grinned and let out a laugh.

“Thank you. Now, if you excuse me. I need to stretch my foot a little, so I am going on a walk.” I stood with Alex immediately standing with me and taking my hand in hers.

“I’m coming too.” She said as we exited the room. It was mainly walking around the hotel with light conversation. I think we were both more focused on my foot because the sooner I can get back to training the sooner everything goes back to normal.

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Questions, Questions, and More Questions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I am going to warn all of you that towards the end of the chapter there are some heavy topics in terms of coming out and religious views. I don’t think it will trigger anyone, but better safe than sorry.

(Y/N) POV:

I groaned slightly when my alarm clock went off. I tried to move, but realized I had another person snuggled into me.

“Alex” I groaned a little trying to reach my arm out to turn off the alarm. “I got to turn it off.”

The forward let out a little groan of her own before moving a little to let me turn off the alarm. Once it was off, I turned and pulled her back into me. She lifted her head slightly and I could see how tired she was. I brushed a little bit of hair out of her face as she gave me a small smile.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.” I mumbled as she leaned in to give me a small kiss. It was the day after our little mini party in Time Square. We had media day today and I could tell it was going to be a long day for her. Media days were always worse on her because of her status within the team.

“I just want to stay in bed with you all day.” She buried her face into my neck as I ran my fingers through her hair.

“I know my love.” I kissed the top of her head as she sat up when her phone dinged. She picked it up and was looking down at her phone. I rubbed her back a little as I was still laying next to her.

“It’s too early for this.” She mumbled as she tossed her phone down and turned to lay back into me.

“We got to get up soon.”

“I know. How does your foot feel?”

“Better. Dawn said that once we get to England, I can start regular training instead of all the light stuff I’ve been doing.”

“That’s good. It’s not the same with you not in training.”

“You just like staring at me” I joked as she let out a laugh.

“I can’t help it…you’re so cute.” She grinned kissing my cheek. I turned and kissed her as she gripped my jaw taking control of the kiss. Before things could go further, there was banging on our door. I dropped my head letting out a breath as she stood and went to open the door.

“Good Morning” Kelley said with a smile on her face. I rolled my eyes as I stood up.

“Good Morning Kelley”

“Did you two just get up?” she asked looking between us.

“Not all of us like getting up early Kelley.”

“I don’t either, but Becky’s my roommate right now which means I’m rising early right now!”

“Sucks for you” I said kissing Alex’s cheek before going into the bathroom. When I came out, Kelley was gone.

“She went to bother Allie so that we could get dressed.”

I nodded my head as I grabbed my clothes for the day. I knew we all had to wear similar outfits, so I didn’t need to put much creativity into what I was wearing. Alex quickly changed before we both headed out the door to meet up with the rest of the team.

“Where are we going first?” I heard Mal ask as we approached our teammates.

“Good Morning America and then we will go to Twitter’s headquarters” Pinoe said as she looked in our direction. “Oh! There’s the happy couple. Nice of you to finally join us.”

“It’s okay. I know you were missing us…” I joked walking towards Pinoe who pulled me into a hug.

“I’m stealing her Alex…”

“I’ll be sure to let Sue know…” Pinoe immediately pushed me back towards Alex as I laughed.

“No offence…” Pinoe said to me as Alex wrapped one arm around my shoulder and rested her hand and head on my other shoulder.

“You’re not exactly my type.”

“I’m everyone’s type so let’s establish that…” I laughed as we then were told to get ready to exit the building. We made our way to the cars as I got in one with Alex, Allie, and Kelley. The camera crew was also in the car with us. The car ride to GMA didn’t feel that long as we arrived relatively quickly.

“Hello, we are here at GM..A” I said to the camera as the girls were dancing behind me. “Good Morning America” We then were directed behind the stage where Hozier was playing.

“You look cute.” I said to Alex who smiled at me.

“You shouldn’t flirt with me…” she said as I pouted. “I’m in a relationship…my girlfriend’s kind of mean too.”

I grinned at her as they then motioned for us walk out. I laughed when Kelley and Allie started teasing Alex as we stepped out for the interview with Michael Strahan. The whole thing seemed to fly by in my opinion because next thing I knew we were leaving and heading to get food really quick before we had to be at the Twitter HQ.

I ended up at a table with Alex, Allie, Kelley, Pinoe, Ash, and Ali. I was next to Alex and across from Pinoe. I ordered just some fruit because I really wasn’t that hungry.

“Can I ask you guys something?” Pinoe asked as the table gave her our attention. “I feel like I already know the answer to this question, but I would feel better hearing it from you guys.

“What’s up?” Kelley asked as we gave her our full attention.

“If we win, and an invite were to come, would you guys go to the white house?”

“No” Alex and I immediately said as with Ash and them not far behind on saying no. I took a grape in my mind as Pinoe seemed to release a breath of relief.

“Thank god. I just needed to confirm that we were all on the same page.” I chuckled as Pinoe started talking about some conversation she had with Sue the other day.

“Hey…” I turned to Alex who was smiling at me. “You’re cute.”

“Oh, please don’t start this again…” Allie groaned as I smirked at her.

“Start what?” Ash asked looking between us.

“The other day they sat for like 10 minutes just saying, ‘you’re cute’ over and over to each other.”

“You guys are that couple?” Pinoe asked with a look as I laughed. “Actually, I wanted to ask you two…in terms of the public what are your plans? I mean…there’s about to be a lot of eyes on our team and on you guys so its like…do you have a plan for that?”

“In terms of like going public…?” I asked as she nodded her head.

“Actually, I wanted to know too because you guys haven’t really seemed like your keeping it a secret.” Ash commented as I looked to Alex who was already looking at me.

“That is completely up to you.” I said as she looked down for a moment. She had more to consider than I did so it really was up to you.

“I mean…I’m not trying to hide it. I’m not trying to flaunt it either though. I’m just enjoying my time with my girlfriend right now.”

“So, if people find out then its fine and if they don’t find out then it is also fine…” Pinoe said though it came out more like a question.

“Exactly.” She said as I nodded my head in agreement. This has to be one of my favorite parts of our relationship because even when we don’t explicitly talk about something we still manage to be on the same page.

“Well, then I am officially requiring you to hold my hand literally all the time.” I joked as she rolled her eyes but still intertwined our fingers as I smiled softly at her.

“You guys are so cute. I really hate it.” Kelley said as I grinned at her.

Once we were done with lunch, we made our way to Twitter HQ. We all had our own tables that we were at with a group of journalists. I smiled as everyone got settled and introduced themselves.

“(Y/N), it’s your first World Cup what sort of expectations do you have for yourself and the team going in?” The woman to my right asked as I thought about it for a second.

“I think that I have expectation that we are going to win.” I said with a laugh as they all laughed. “No, I think this is probably the deepest pool of players in the history of the World Cup and each game is going to bring new challenges for myself and the team, but I think we like the pressure that those challenges bring. I think that’s sort of what sets us apart from the rest of the teams in the tournament. I don’t think any of the other teams can handle the pressure to preform well like we do.”

“Do you think there is added pressure considering you guys are the defending champions?”

“I think that it’s a factor, but I mean when you’re the best team in the world you’re constantly going to have other teams trying to knock you out. Being the defending champions though doesn’t apply to some of the people on this team including myself. I haven’t won a World Cup, but I assure you I am dying too.”

The questions continued as the reporters asked anything and everything they could. I had all sorts of topics including equal pay, FIFA, and the NWSL. Eventually, they signaled that for one more question.

“How do you feel about team chemistry going into this tournament?”

“I think that this team couldn’t be closer. This isn’t just a team. It’s a family. We love and support each other so much and I really couldn’t ask for a better group of people to go through this crazy time with than the people I get to do it with.”

I then stood up and walked with one of the guys who explained that I was doing a Twitter Q and A with Becky. I grinned as I entered the room with Becky who rolled her eyes.

“Okay so the questions are pre-selected. They are screenshots so you just have to swipe to the right.” The guy explained as he handed me the phone we were reading off of. We both nodded our heads as they motioned that they were filming.

“Who is your favorite player of all time?” I asked as I looked to Becky who looked too me.

“Oh, am I answering?” I asked as she laughed. “I would say Ronaldinho. I was mesmerized watching him play when I was growing up. Or Lionel Messi because who doesn’t love Messi?”

“I would say Francesco Totti.”

“Really?” I asked with disbelief. “That’s so weird. I would have thought you would pick a defender. Next question, if you were trapped in an elevator which teammate would you not want to be trapped with?”

“You probably.” Becky answered immediately causing me to laugh. “You would definitely stress me out.”

“That’s so mean.” I said as I thought about it. “Emily Sonnett for me. She would stress me out.”

“Oh…that’s a good answer actually.” Becky said thinking about it. “Sorry Sonnett.”

“Oh no” I groaned as I sighed. “Which Hogwarts house do you belong to?”

“Ravenclaw.” Becky immediately said as she started explaining why. “I don’t care what you say you belong in Slytherin”

“I do not!” I defended as she rolled her eyes. “I took the official test and I am in Gryffindor. Also, there’s nothing wrong with Slytherin”

“You’re a Slytherin. I won’t argue about this.” She said as I laughed. “Next question?”

“Favorite song at the moment?”

“I don’t really have one at the moment.”

“Mine is a tie between Hesitate and Don’t throw it Away by the Jonas Brothers. I just downloaded there album so…” she nodded her head as we answered a few more questions. Eventually, we were done as we exited the room. I was pulled into doing some other stuff as the day continued to drag. Eventually, the day was winding down as I walked with JJ and Christen towards where the rest of the team was.

“Oh my god” I said excitedly as I saw the foosball table. “Are we allowed to use this?”

“That is so cool” Tobin mumbled as we all examined it and saw ourselves on it.

“We are?” Sonnett asked as they nodded their heads at us. “We’re allowed to play with it.”

“Yes! Let’s go! We’re forming teams. Becky!” I shouted as we quickly started playing. The cameramen and reporters around us watched us all freak out and get super competitive as we played foosball with each other. It definitely got out of hand as we were all screaming and cheering, but I felt like it perfectly represented this team. When I was watching some of the girls play, I felt an arm slip around my waist. I jumped slightly but relaxed when I saw Alex lean into me. The girl looked a little tired, but she smiled at me. I wrapped an arm around her as we continued watching our teammates.

Eventually, it was time to leave as we exited the building and got into the cars and made our way back to the hotel. I could tell everyone for the most part was tired. I was definitely exhausted. All I wanted to do was nap, preferably with Alex. The team talked about going to dinner, but until then everyone was off doing their own thing. Once back in my room, I laid with Alex who seemed like she could pass out any second. I knew no matter how stressful the day had been for me it didn’t come close to how stressful it was for her.

“Go to sleep.” I mumbled as she hummed slightly. “It’s okay.” It only took a few more moments before she was out for the count and soon, I felt myself doze off too.

I woke up to Alex softly saying my name. I groaned rolling over and cuddling into the forward. She laughed a little as she rubbed my back which only made me want to sleep more.

“We have dinner soon.” She said as I groaned.

“No.”

“Yeah…you need to eat so you don’t get hangry.” I let out another groan as I started drifting again before she whacked me with a pillow. I sat up and glared at her as she laughed pulling me towards her and kissing my cheek.

“Asshole.” I mumbled as she smiled at me. She stood and went into the bathroom. I checked my phone for a moment before she returned. “How long do we have before dinner?”

“An hour.” She said as I turned towards her with an irritated look.

“I wanted to spend time with you before we have to go.” She defended as I leaned back against the headboard of the bed. She took that as her invitation to lay down with her back against my front as she played with my fingers. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did” I joked slightly as I rested my head on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you talk about your family?” she asked ignoring my joke as I stiffened. She turned towards me as I straightened my back slightly.

“It’s not something I like talking about.” I admitted as ran my fingers through my hair. She frowned and placed her hand on my knee.

“You don’t have to talk about it, I was just a little curious.” I stared at her deciding if I should tell her or not…

“No, it’s okay…I just need a minute.” I said as I took a shaky breath. I really was about to bare my soul to her, wasn’t I? “You have to let me get through the whole story without interrupting and you have to promise you won’t say a word to anyone else about it.”

“I won’t I promise” she said with a serious expression.

“I mean it Alex…no one else knows really besides Becky…and she only knows because I got hammered and accidentally told her…”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone…” she said as I nodded my head.

“When I was about 14-15, I developed my first crush on a girl. She was girl that I had known for a while. Her family was really close to my family. We all went to the same church. My parents were super religious. I mean…consider every cliché religious stereotype and you have my parents. I had an older brother and an older sister. I was close with both of them growing up because we weren’t too far in age. Anyway, this girl that I liked. She actually liked me back and she was my first kiss too. We secretly started dating and we were really good at keeping a secret. Except, her brother caught us one time. He told my siblings as well as his parents and then they all ended up telling my parents. I wasn’t allowed to be alone with her anymore and my parents ended up getting into a super big argument about what to with me…” I trailed slightly trying to keep my composure.

“It’s okay. Just breath. I’m right here.” Alex said softly as I nodded my head.

“My dad wanted to send me to one of those camps that ‘fixed’ kids. My mom just felt like I would grow out of it. My brother was on my dad’s side about sending me away and my sister was on my moms’ side about not sending me away. I later found out that my sister had actually caught that girl and I and had just kept her mouth shut because she didn’t want anything bad to happen to me. My mom ended up winning the fight, but it changed the dynamic of my family. My brother and father were very cold towards me and my mom just pretended everything was okay choosing to ignore the fact that I was gay.” I released another shaky breath before continuing.

“My sister didn’t treat me any differently though. She told me one night that she didn’t care who I chose to love, because I would never not be her sister. A year later, I had started seeing another girl in secret. My sister knew and had tried to do everything to help me hide it, but my brother found out. He immediately told my parents and told them about my sister trying to hide it from them. My father told me that I had two options…I could go to the camp to get myself fixed or I could leave. If I chose to leave, then I would no longer be welcome in my family until I fixed myself. I would not be allowed to talk to anyone in my family until I was normal. I chose to leave as hard as it was…my sister was given the option of going with me or shunning me from the family. She told me she was sorry, but she didn’t want to lose the rest of our family. She was already being punished for ‘protecting me from the consequences of sin’ which was how my dad had worded it. I understood, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less. The last thing my mom said to me before I left was that she would pray for me that I would see the light.”

I sat in silence for a moment as I let her process all the information. She took my face in her hands and kissed me. I could feel the love and comfort that she was trying to give me.

“You are perfect the way you are.” She said as she gave me another kiss. “I love you so much and I know everyone on this team loves you so much too. God, I could fight your family.” I smiled at her statement as I let her comfort me.

“Yeah it sucked it left me in a dark place and I really had no hope at all…but I am who I am because of what happened.” I shrugged my shoulders as she nodded though she had a thoughtful look on her face.

“If you were 14-15 when the first thing happened and then a year passed…then that would make you 15-16 when you got kicked out…” I nodded my head at her as she frowned. “What did you do?”

“I moved in with my friends. Sebastian and Santiago. You know the brothers that I am friends with…they took me in. I think their mom felt really bad about what happened. She’s told me so many times that she couldn’t imagine kicking out any of her kids. They took care of me and then I went off to college and the rest is sort of history from there.”

“I know I am asking you so many personal questions…but was that part of the reason you hated playing for North Carolina so much…?” I let out a low laugh as I nodded my head.

“Yeah…that team isn’t super friendly towards gays...or I shouldn’t say the team as a whole just certain players…”

“I’m really sorry that happened to you.” She said giving me another kiss. I nodded my head as I let her continue giving me comfort.

“I know…there’s nothing you could have done though…you didn’t even know me…”

“I know, but I love you…you’re my whole world and I don’t like thinking about bad things happening to you…” I smiled at her as I gave her another kiss. “Okay I have one more question and then that’s it…”

“What?”

“How come you don’t want the team to know? I know they would understand…”

“It’s more a pride thing for me…It’s not an easy story to tell. It’s embarrassing. It’s hard enough when we do things that involve families and I have no one. Having to explain why to everyone and deal with the pity and being treated differently…it’s not for me. I would just rather they didn’t know…” she nodded her head and gave me one more kiss.

“I understand and your story is safe with me.” She said as I leaned my forehead against hers. I hated to admit it, but I already felt slightly better after having told her. It felt like I have opened up a whole new part of my heart with her that I haven’t really opened up with anyone before. I really do feel like things can only go up from here.

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Welcome to France!

(Y/N) POV:

The last week has been so hectic, but I can’t properly express how relieved I am to be finally be landing in France. It feels like we have been building to this moment for so long and it is finally here. We had got to our hotel in time to catch the France game which was great considering it was the opening game and marked the beginning of the tournament. I could tell I wasn’t the only one irritated over having to wait until the 11th to actually begin our run of the tournament. I was back in training which was great because I didn’t like not being able to train with my teammates especially if I want to keep my starting spot.

Things with Alex have been perfect ever since I opened up to her about my past, I have found it easier to talk to her about other not so serious stuff. I feel like it has put us on the same page even more too. The team really feels like everyone is coming together the longer we spend time together.

Currently, we are in a heated debate about which team in the NWSL is the best. People are starting to pull out stats which tells me how intense it is getting.

“You’re wrong” Sonnett said with an exasperated look on her face.

“I’m not!” Ashlyn said back throwing her arms in the air. Alex was leaning on my shoulder as we watched them argue. Tobin was just grinning as Christen shook her head.

“Technically, you’re both wrong. The courage is the best team.” Crystal said flipping her hair as Sam and Abby both nodded their heads.

“Gross” I said getting amused smiles from everyone except for the courage players. “I mean at what cost though…”

“You’re not winning in popularity.” Ash said as I nodded my head along with the goalkeeper. She pointed at me with a smile.

“In terms of popularity, it’s the Reign. No argument” Pinoe said as most of us scoffed.

“Definitely not.” Kelley said as she shook her head. “Utah is clearly the most loved team because not only do we have Christen and Broon, but we got (Y/N)” I did a little salute to the defender as she nodded her head.

“No, it’s the Pride. We are the best. Both in popularity and league wise. No debate. Period. It’s over.”

“Then, why haven’t you won a game?” I asked as several jaws dropped. Kelley, Sonnett, and Mal were losing it as everyone looked around shook that I had said that. Christen crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair with a smile on her face as Tobin tried to hide her smile. Ash was glaring at me as Pinoe was slapping her shoulder while laughing. Alex picked up her head and gave me an incredulous look. “I mean…”

“You should just be quiet.” She mumbled as I smiled at her.

“I feel like that’s a valid question.” I said as she gave me another look. “What?”

“It is a valid question.” Christen said as I nodded my head grinning at the forward.

“See…Christen agrees with me.” I said giving Alex a pointed look. She scowled at me as I tried to hold back my laugh

“You shouldn’t say it though…not when your girlfriend plays on that team…” Christen continued giving me an amused smile.

“I’m just keeping it real.” I said as Alex crossed her arms leaning away from me. “Oh, come on…don’t be like that.”

“You can sleep in your own bed tonight.” She said as there were various ‘Oh’s’ across the room. My jaw dropped slightly as I stared at her trying to gauge how serious she was being. Technically, I knew that I could last longer being away from her than she could but doesn’t mean I want to.

“Alex…” I said with a little pout. She rolled her eyes as I pulled her into me. I kissed the side of her neck as she smiled slightly.

“No! Alex hold strong…she insulted the pride.” Ash said as I pulled away and glared at her.

“Why don’t we all just agree that we don’t like the courage and move on?” Sonnett said as I laughed. She immediately looked at Sam and them. “No offense”

“Offense taken…” Abby said as Jess nodded her head. “I don’t get why you guys don’t like the courage at all. I mean the whole team isn’t that bad.”

“I don’t think the whole team is bad…” I said shrugging my shoulders. Alex had immediately taken her position of resting her head on my shoulder back up as she intertwined our fingers. She was rubbing circles on the back of my hand trying to give me comfort. “There’s just people on that team that ruin it for everyone. If I wasn’t a player and I was just a fan, the courage is the last team I would support.”

“Yeah but sitting here and saying everyone hates us because of those players who have those views is unfair…” Jess said shrugging her shoulders. I could tell that they were trying to play it off as if it wasn’t a huge deal, but it was in fact a huge deal. “Are you going to hate a whole group of people just because one sucks…”

“Well, from what I’ve seen its not just one…it’s a few and if those few make it impossible for me to live my life feeling safe and comfortable then yes…I am going to hate them.”

“Okay…” Pinoe said as I refused to break eye contact with the courage girls. The air in the room had got pretty tense as I decided to remove myself from the situation. I moved slightly giving Alex enough time to pull away as I stood up.

“I don’t hate you guys or even your whole team, but just because you didn’t have the same experiences doesn’t mean you get to decide that the opinions of others aren’t valid.”

I moved to exit the room as I tried to walk off the frustration I was feeling. I found my way to the roof of the hotel which had been converted into its own little garden area. I leaned against the balcony looking out into the city.

“Well, that was intense.” I nodded my head as Alex leaned next to me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really…” I said and then realized that maybe it was better to talk about it. “I don’t hate the courage. I just hate the experiences I had there. It wasn’t even bad, but whether they realize it or not…people pick up on those kinds of vibes.”

“I know…I just think that because they don’t know about your situation it just makes it a little harder to fully understand why you take it so personally…”

“I know.” I mumbled as I hung my head a little. “It’s bullshit that she hides behind her religion.”

“It is.” She said turning towards me giving me a soft look. “I know you can’t get Ash and Pinoe started about her… I just don’t think they realize just how much of a bone of contention she is with the team.”

“I think they do actually…I think it’s the part about people using her as a reason to not like the courage that upsets them.”

“Yeah.” She agreed as I turned towards her.

“I don’t want to talk about her. Not when I have this view…” I said as I stared at her. “Do you realize that we get to spend part of the beginning of our relationship in France?”

“How lucky are we?” she joked as I grinned at her. I leaned in and gave her a kiss as she smiled into it. I pulled back as I thought about what the next month was going to look like.

“Say we get to the final…we will have spent our 2-month anniversary, your birthday, and my birthday…”

“Gosh…I never thought about it like that…” she mumbled as we both started laughing at how crazy that is.

“I have this thought every year, but it still blows my mind how close our birthdays are.” She said as I nodded my head.

“It’s crazy.” I said as she leaned into me as we stood together looking at the city. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

We stood for a few more minutes before heading back down towards our room. As I waited for her to open the door, I saw Jess and Abby coming towards us. I smiled and gave a small wave towards them.

“Hey” Abby said as I crossed my arms “We wanted to say we were sorry. Of course, we get why you don’t like the courage and we didn’t want to imply that your opinion was any less valid than ours.”

“It’s fine. I just don’t think you should dismiss other people’s experiences.” I said shrugging my shoulders as I followed Alex into our room. They followed us into the room. “Also, I don’t hate the courage specifically…I just didn’t like my time there. Part of the problem was I was ripped away from FCKC and that didn’t feel good so…”

They both nodded their heads as we continued talking for a few minutes with both of them apologizing before they left. Alex came and laid down on top of me.

“Do you feel a little better?” she asked as I nodded my head.

“A little.” I admitted as she kissed my jaw.

“Oh, do you want to hear some news?” she asked sitting up slightly.

“Sure.”

“I told my mom I was dating you.” She said as I furrowed my brows.

“She didn’t know before…?” I aske as she shook her head with a small smile.

“No, she only speculated.” She said as I nodded my head. “She was super excited about it. She really does love you.”

“I guess I just have that effect on the Morgan family.” I grunted when she slapped my arm.

“You’re insufferable.”

“I think you mean insatiable.” I grinned leaning up to capture her lips in a kiss. I pulled away and leaned back down on the bed as she laid her head down on my shoulder.

“No, she was really happy for me…she said just the way I talked about you told her that I was completely in love…”

“Well lucky for you that I love you just as much…” I said as she smiled and snuggled into me.

The next few days seemed to drag on yet also fly by. Watching the games had been incredible, but I couldn’t lie the anticipation was building around the team. We wanted to get to our game so we could show everyone what we came her to do. To win.

Once we got to the day of the first game, everything was starting to feel more real. The day began like any game day as we went through our usual morning rituals and eventually made our way to the stadium.

“Are you ready?” Becky asked me as I looked over at her.

“Ready as I’ll ever be…” I said as we pulled into the stadium.

“Whatever happens in this tournament….I want you to know how proud of you I am. You’re not the same unsure kid that you were in 2014.”

“I sure hope not…” I said as I turned towards her. “I appreciate that. It means a lot. Especially coming from you…”

Everything seemed to fly by as we were soon in the tunnel waiting to walkout. I was leaning against the wall as I talked with the kid that I would be walking out with.

“Is it bad that it doesn’t even feel like a World Cup game?” I asked JJ who stood next to me as we waited to exit the tunnel.

“Probably a little…might be your arrogance speaking…” she joked as I grinned at her. I glanced passed her and Lindsay and looked directly at Alex.

“How you doing? You come here often?” I jokingly flirted getting an amused grin from all the girls.

“She’s out of your league…” JJ joked as I laughed.

“Yeah she probably is…” I said sending a wink to Alex who rolled her eyes.

Once we walked out and did the national anthem, I immediately entered game mode. I wanted to win and make sure that everyone knew that we were the team to beat. The game quickly started and in the 6th minute Alex scored, but then it was checked and called off.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get another one.” I said as I passed her on the field. She shot me a smile as I got back in position.

The moment came in the 12th minute when Pinoe sent in a ball that fell to Kelley who took a touch before crossing it to Alex who headed the ball into the back of the net. I grinned as the team celebrated as we were walking back to midfield I turned towards the forward.

“Told you so.” I said as she grinned at me.

The next best moment came in the 20th minute when Alex sent me a beautiful pass. I was able to run upfield a little before taking a long shot. The ball bounced right past the goalkeeper as I jumped up doing a little fist pump. I then turned towards Alex as the girl jumped in my arms. Everyone hugged as I buried my head into Alex’s neck.

“That was nice of you.” I said as I sat the girl on the ground. We headed back to midfield again as the forward shot me a wink.

The next goal didn’t come until the 32nd minute when Lindsay scored on Tobin’s freekick. Halftime came soon after that as we all sat in the locker room listening to Jill explain tactics. Once that was done, we got ready to head back out onto the field.

“You’re playing amazing by the way.” Alex said as we were about to exit the room. I pulled her into me giving her a kiss.

“You are too. Thanks for the assist.” I said as we walked out on to the field and got ready for the second half to start.

Sam kicked off the scoring for us in the second half when her shot got deflected into the back of the net. Alex then took the next goal with a tap in off of Tobin’s free kick. I had a shot blocked but Sam caught the second ball as she scored. I jumped right into her arms as we celebrated another goal. Not long after that Sam played a ball across the box that I was able to slam into the back of the net. I jumped up doing another little fist pump as I ran to hug Sam and Alex.

“Is this really happening?” Sam asked with wide eyes as I grinned. Alex kissed my cheek as we pulled away and I hugged some of the other girls. I groaned slightly when I saw my number go up as I ran to the sideline making way so that Carli could enter the game.

“This is insane.” Ash said as I nodded my head. I got pats on the back from everyone as I focused all my attention on the game. Christen had also subbed into the game for Tobin so we sat on the sideline watching the game continue.

“I’ll bet anyone here money that Alex scores again.”

“I’ll take that bet.” Sonnett said as we shook hands.

I grinned in the 74th minute when Alex scored a phenomenal goal. I was so proud of her that I couldn’t properly explain it.

“That’s my woman.” I joked as everyone laughed.

The bench then proceeded to lose it when Pinoe scored in the 79th minute, but the craziness came for me in the 81st minute when Alex sent another goal into the back of the net. I stood there dumbfounded as I watched her celebrate and count how many goals she had on her fingers.

“I just don’t feel like she’s real at this point…” Ash said as I nodded my head with a proud smile. 

The next awesome moment came a few minutes later when Mal scored after dribbling past the goalkeeper. She ran right to us as we celebrated together. I took the opportunity to hug Alex as she grinned at me. They ran back out on the field and got back to playing.

In the 87th minute, Crystal sent in a ball to Alex who had a beautiful first touch before shooting and scoring. I placed my hands on my head as my jaw dropped at how beautiful the goal was.

“I mean…what a woman…I don’t think I’ve ever been more attracted to her than in this moment right now…” I said getting amused smiles from Ash, Ali, and them. She came in our direction as she celebrated with all of us before hugging us.

“That one was for you.” She joked as she hugged me. I grinned as she ran back to midfield.

“I am one lucky person.” I commented as my teammates shook their heads.

The game was finished out by Carli who scored the final goal of the night. The ending score being 13-0 which had to be some kind of record. I immediately made my way around the field comforting the Thailand players and making sure they knew that they should keep their heads up.

After getting to the locker room, I made my way over to my locker as I sat down and took it in.

“Well done…two goals on your World Cup debut.” Becky said as I grinned at the defender. “Very impressive.”

“This is crazy.” I said as she nodded her head.

“It was crazy.” I turned my head and grinned when Alex came into the room. I ran over and picked up the girl spinning her around.

“That was fucking amazing.” I said as she smiled at me.

“You played so well too….I am so proud.” She smiled as we celebrated with the team.

“What a great way to start out the tournament. Morale and Confidence is up and now we definitely have the edge over the rest of the group.” Jill said as we all nodded our heads. She talked for a few more minutes before it was time to gather our stuff and head out.

“Jesus…” Sonnett said as I looked over at her. “Twitter is lit right now…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…you have the people who are thinking we are incredible and the people who think we are assholes for celebrating too much…”

“Wait…what?” I asked as she nodded her head. She turned her phone towards me as I scrolled through the trending tags and saw all the comments. Half good and half bad.

“Well…this should be interesting…” I said as she nodded her head.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Breathtaking

(Y/N) POV:

“In conclusion, these women are nothing more than your typical arrogant Americans who think they are better than the rest of the world based purely off of the fact they are American.”

“Jesus…” Kelley said as Alex finished reading one of the hundreds of articles about how we are a bunch of bullies. We are currently in a room getting massages and doing recovery as we are talking about controversy that followed last nights game.

“I don’t think I am better because I am American…I think I am better because I’m more talented.” I said earning a few chuckles from some of the girls around the room.

“That might be the attitude that got us into this mess.” Pinoe said as I shrugged my shoulders. “Way to stay humble though…”

“I can’t help how amazing I am….” I said laughing as they shook their heads.

“Kaylyn Kyle is also on Twitter talking about getting death threats after her comments about us.” Alex said as she continued scrolling on her phone.

“Listen, this is the World Cup. Goal differential matters and maybe we celebrated too hard, but again this is the World Cup. I’m going to celebrate every single goal like it’s the last.” I said as there were a few head nods.

“I’m over talking about it already to be honest…” Alex commented as I nodded my head along with her.

“You’re going to get asked a million times about it.” Allie said as she groaned.

“I know…”

“In other news, most of America has decided that they don’t like that you didn’t put your hand on your heart and that you didn’t sing the anthem.” Allie said looking to Pinoe who rolled her eyes.

“We been knew about this…next!” she said as Allie laughed.

“Most of our fans are calling you out for flirting with Alex during the game…” she said looking at me as I grinned.

“I was flirting, and she was flirting back…” I said looking to Alex who blew a kiss at me. I grinned at her sending her a wink as the others groaned.

“Oh hey!” Kelley said looking across to me. “I finally figured out why you and Christen don’t like admitting your best friends…”

“Oh, pray tell…” I said with disinterest as I turned to look at Alex who shot me an amused smile.

“So, when she first got to Utah, I really did think you guys had like a thing…” I could have got whiplash with how fast I turned my head as Alex scowled at Kelley who grinned at us. “Wait…hang on let me explain…”

“You thought we had a thing?” I asked with a disgusted look. “I mean like yeah she’s hot…but like also gross…”

“Excuse me?” I turned to Alex who was now scowling at me.

“I think you’re the hottest person I have ever met…” I said as Allie and Pinoe were practically on the ground cracking up. Alex shot me a look as Kelley continued.

“Yeah I thought you guys had a thing…you spent a lot of time together at each other’s places. So, naturally…I was like they like each other which was confusing because you know as far as I knew Chris and Tobs were together and you were madly in love with Alex…then I realized that yes you were in fact extremely into Alex so I was like okay so they aren’t together…”

I was staring at her in disbelief as Alex just settled on glaring at both of us. Allie was grinning looking back and forth between us as Pinoe was still trying to stop herself from laughing.

“So, it settles that you guys are best friends because you spend a lot of time together, you have your own little inside jokes, and you genuinely just seem to have each other’s backs. You also love to annoy each other, and you hate to admit that you are best friends. Which leads me to believe that you have a very antagonistic friendship. Normally, I would just say these are two people who don’t like each other and leave it at that, but like you do care about each other so much.” She finished as I thought about it. I mean she wasn’t completely wrong, but the idea of admitting that Christen was my best friend just seemed annoying.

“That actually makes a lot of sense. You do love to annoy each other, but your also like one of the first to defend each other. You seem to be pretty informed on each other’s lives and your connection on the field is super strong which would indicate that you are in fact close...” Pinoe commented as I made a face. I turned to face Alex who still looked mildly irritated.

"Look away. I’m not over your comment yet.” She said as I looked back at Kelley who shot me a grin and thumbs up.

“I didn’t know you were such a genius Kelley.” I said sarcastically as she nodded her head.

“I keep telling you…” she said before getting a serious look. “Do you not agree though?”

“I feel like…your half right…”

“I’ll take it.” She said with a wide smile as I rolled my eyes. I finished my massage before everyone else, so I offered to wait with Alex who shot me a small glare.

“Okay. Your still not over the comment…I’ll give you a little space.” I said as I kissed her forehead. “I love you”

As I walked out of the room, my phone rang. I picked it up with a smile when I realized who was calling.

“Well…I didn’t realize that my best friend was such an arrogant jerk.” I laughed at Sebastian’s comment. 

“Me neither.” I joked as he laughed.

“We watched the game yesterday. We were very proud of you.” He said as I smiled. “Mom was freaking out when you scored. Though, she does think you could have been nicer to the other team.”

“It’s the World Cup. I don’t have time to go easy on anyone. You can tell Mama Alvarez that I am sorry though.” I said as I approached my room. I opened the door and sat down as I continued talking to him.

“I understand that and I’ll let her know. Santiago thinks you weren’t ruthless enough.”

“Santiago just likes to watch people cry.” I commented earning a chuckle from Sebastian.

“Yeah…how are things though?” he asked as I laid there thinking about it.

“It’s going pretty good. I’m relieved that the tournament has finally begun for us.”

“Yeah I get that…I am really sorry we can’t be there.”

“I know.” I said not wanting to have this conversation again. “You guys all have jobs and lives. It doesn’t just stop because I am playing in the World Cup.”

“Yeah, but I am sure everyone else’s family is there and technically we are your family.” He said as I nodded my head. “We aren’t being a very good family right now.”

“Seb…I don’t want to talk about this right now.” I said as I felt my eyes stinging slightly. “I appreciate everything you guys have done for me…and hopefully I will be able to come home and stay home soon.”

“You’re still trying to do that…” he said with a little bit of shock in his voice. “I thought you were happy in Utah.”

“I am, but I also want to come home and be with you guys…my family.” I said as I heard him sigh.

“Aren’t you worried about the consequences of your actions?”

“A little…there’s no guarantee that anyone finds out what I did…in this case, the reward is worth the risk.”

“Does your girlfriend at least know?”

“No…I need to tell her, so she isn’t blindsided, but it’s not exactly easy saying you fucked over one of your friends…”

“I can only imagine….how are things going between you guys?” he asked me curiously and I couldn’t be more grateful for the subject change.

“It’s going really well…I opened up to her about what happened with my family…”

“Yeah Santiago told me…he said he was super proud of you and so am I…” I smiled a little at his comment of being proud of me. “I imagine it was really difficult for you…”

“Yeah…it’s hard letting people in. She took it all really well though…I was pretty grateful.”

“Santiago said something about her threatening to fight you family…?” I let out a laugh.

“Yeah, she definitely wants to fight them…” I said as I heard the door open. Alex walked in and she still looked a little upset. “Seb I think I need to call you back.”

“Okay. I got to get going anyway. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I tossed my phone to the side as I watched her move around the room. She was refusing to look at me which only caused me to smile.

“Are you really giving me the silent treatment?” I asked as she glanced at me which only caused me to grin and let out a laugh. “You are…”

“Shut up…” she mumbled as I pouted and stood up. I walked towards her and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind resting my head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” I said as she stopped what she was doing. I took that as encouragement to go on. “I think that you are the most breathtaking thing I have ever seen…the first time I ever saw you was in 2014…I was playing for FCKC and you were playing for Portland and I saw you and you took my breath away. I was too afraid to talk to you because you were Alex Morgan and I was just some random person. Then, I came onto the team and I started to get to know you and when I say I fell completely head over heels…it’s an understatement. I already thought you were beautiful, but you took my whole heart with your mind and the way you look at the world. I was a goner. Completely and irreversibly in love.”

She had completely relaxed into my arms at this point as I swayed us slightly. She had intertwined our fingers as I placed a small kiss on her neck. I turned my head slightly as I looked at her.

“There’s never going to be anyone who means more to me or makes my heart beat the way you do.”

That seemed to be enough as she then turned in my arms slightly bringing her hand up to the back of my neck as she connected our lips. I kept my hands on her waist as the kiss got deeper. Eventually, air became a necessity as she leaned her forehead on mine. Our breaths were short as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“I need you so much.” She said as I nodded my head slightly.

“I need you too.” I said as she leaned in and kissed me again. “Loving you is the only thing that has gotten me through the past couple years…I mean yeah we’ve been together for like a month, but it feels like so much longer than that…”

“I know what you mean…I feel like we’ve been together for years at this point…” I picked her up as I laid us down knowing our best conversations came when we were laying down comfortable with each other. She rolled her eyes but happily accepted my actions.

“I can’t imagine my life without you…” I admitted as she adjusted her position, so she was laying directly on top of me with her head on my chest looking up at me.

“Me neither...I see my future with you and only you.”

“It might be a little premature, but like…I see it all with you…” I said as she gave me a soft look. “I see marriage and kids and having a house near our families and growing old together…” She had a smile on her face as she leaned up to kiss me and then hovered over me.

“Do we have a dog? Or any pets at all?”

“Plenty of pets…a house close to the beach so we can take the kids there…Kelley can teach them to surf. Tobin will try to teach them to skate until one of them falls and then it’s immediately vetoed. Sebastian and Santiago will fight over which one of them is the favorite Uncle while Jeri and Jeni duke it out with Kelley and Sydney and the others over who the favorite Aunt is...we will lose our minds over the amount of people who try to spoil them…” She had a grin on her face as I smiled up at her.

“Everyone knows you buy the love…” she commented as I nodded my head.

“Obviously, I’ll take them to Sebs and Santi’s moms house so she can teach them all the good recipes like she taught me…”

“Oh, I didn’t know you could cook…” she said with a playful smile

“Yeah, it’s one of my many talents, but it’s better they learn from her…”

“Will our kids play soccer?”

“Only if they want to…we wouldn’t want to force them into anything…whatever they decide to do is what we will support…and we are going to love our kids unconditionally…they will know that we would do anything for them. That we will always protect them and care for them and never make them feel like they can’t come to us…” I said getting slightly emotional. She gave me a soft kiss.

“I can’t wait to have kids with you…you’re going to be an amazing parent.” She said as I smiled at her.

“I only want kids if I can have them with you…” I said as she nodded her head.

“How coincidental because I only want kids if they are with you too…” I grinned at her as I leaned up and kissed her with as much passion as I could muster up.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” She smiled at me as I stared into her eyes. “I am sorry by the way…”

“It’s fine. I overreacted. I just get protective because what we have is so special and I don’t want anything or anyone to ruin that.” I gave her a soft smile.

“There isn’t a thing in this world that could take me away from you.” I said as she smiled at me.

The rest of that day and the next few days seemed to fly as we got to the Chile game. Alex was pulled away a little more because of having to do media for the team with Pinoe. So, that sucked. I spent the time she wasn’t around with Christen, Becky, Tierna, and JJ. I sort of rotated between the four. Mainly Christen or Becky though. Becky had been pleasantly surprised upon finding out that I had opened up to Alex about my past. She called it a breakthrough. I disagree, but she’s a little smarter than me so I don’t have enough ground to stand on to disagree.

The game against Chile was going to be a good one. We’d be fools to count them out especially considering they have Christiane Endler. I knew how talented she was, and I wanted to play against her so badly, but alas Alex and I were both not starting because most of the starters were left on the bench to rest. I was disappointed to not get to play but ultimately, I was happy to cheer on the rest of my teammates once the game actually started.

Christen was tearing it up during the whole game, yet she never scored which was injustice given some of her shots. I cringed a little when Carli missed the penalty. I could tell the entire bench was shook as we watched the midfielder miss.

“We are never going to hear the end of this…” I said as Alex gave me a look shaking her head. Though, Kelley shot me a small amused smile. It ended up being okay though because Carli scored two and JJ walked away with one goal. All in all, we were in a good mood because the win meant we were going to knockouts. That was the goal for the first couple games, so we did exactly what we set out to do. So Far.

The next big test would be Sweden and I was pumped to get to play against them. I knew the big storyline was that they had knocked the US out during the Olympics, but I knew it was exhausting to talk about with everyone.

“Well done!” I said giving Christen a hug as the forward smiled. “I’m actually really mad that you didn’t score.”

“It’s fine. We got the win. That’s what matters.” I nodded my head as we walked towards the rest of the team after the game.

“On to the knockouts.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Got to play Sweden first though…”

“Yeah, you nervous for that game?” I asked as she shook her head.

“A little. I know everyone is going to make it about getting knocked out of the Olympics.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking…” I said as we approached our team. We joined the huddle as Jill talked for a few minutes before walking off. Christen and I continued walking as I saw and pulled JJ in for a hug.

“Nice goal my friend…” I said as she smiled at me.

“Thanks!” she said as I kissed her forehead.

“You’re beautiful head.” I joked getting laughs from her and Christen as they hugged.

“It was a good assist.” She said as I nodded. I searched around the field for Tierna and spotted her talking to Kelley and Becky.

“Yeah, I feel like she’s the future of this team…I mean she can do that at her age…where will she be in five years?”

“I know right?” Christen said as we came across Lindsay, Mal, Rose, Sam, and Sonnett. “I used to think the same thing about Mal.”

“What about me?” she asked as she looked between us.

“You had so much potential and now I just think what went wrong…” I said as her jaw dropped, and a pout formed.

“She skipped college and went pro…that’s what happened.” Christen said as I grinned and hit her shoulder getting a smile in return.

“I hate you guys.” Mal said with a pout as I pulled her into me.

“Oh, come on…we are just playing…we love you so much…” I said as the forward tried to get away from me.

“No, you guys are jerks…” she said as Christen let out a laugh.

“The Non-Best friends strike again…” Lindsay said as everyone laughed when Christen and I both immediately made faces at each other and shook our heads.

“Not best friends.” Christen said as I nodded my head to her statement. JJ shook her head as the others immediately started disagreeing with us.

“If you guys aren’t best friends, then Lindsay and Mal never skipped college to go pro.” Sonnet said as Lindsay and Mal both turned to Sonnett with glares. I laughed as I shook my head.

We all then started making our way to the locker room as Christen and I continued talking about the Sweden game…eventually the topic switched to Alex and me.

“Things are going really well…getting pretty serious…” I said as she smiled.

“I’m really happy for you…” she said softly as I looked at her and nodded my head.

“I am equally happy for you and Tobs…but if you tell anyone I said that…”

“I know.” She said before I could finish my sentence. “You’ll kill me.”

When we got into the locker room, I gathered all my stuff. I walked towards Alex who sent me a small smile. I hugged the forward as she stroked the back of my hair.

“To the Knockouts, but first Sweden.” She nodded her head to my statement.

“Got to get past Sweden first.” We exited the locker room and made our way back to the hotel, mostly everyone was pretty tired, so it was off to bed.

As I was laying with Alex in bed, she was tracing patterns on the portion of my skin that was exposed from t-shirt being up a little.

“You’re disappointed you didn’t get to start huh….” She said after a moment. I nodded my head a little.

“Yeah…I was at first at least…I think it’s the first time that I have ever enjoyed just watching the team play…with me not playing at all and you not being on the field either…”

“You like to watch when I play…?” she asked looking up at me.

“Yeah, I am fascinated by everything you do…especially when you play.” She smiled leaning in to give me a kiss.

“You always know just what to say huh…” she said as I grinned and nodded my head.

“Another one of my many talents” she shook her head giving me another kiss.

“Yeah, well go to sleep Ms. Talented” she said turning our light off and snuggling into me.

“I love you.” I said kissing her forehead.

“I love you too.” She mumbled as we both drifted off to sleep.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. And it all comes out...

Alex POV:

“This is so stupid” (Y/N) mumbled as Allie let out a laugh. “I don’t even know why I have to do this…”

“Because it’s fun” Mal said as (Y/N) shook her head. She took a step back before striking the ball. The ball sailed over everyone as it went into the back of the net just missing the post. “YES! I win!”

“Fuck…” (Y/N) said pouting as Mal started celebrating with Sonnett and them.

“I beat you…” she sang jumping around as I laughed at their antics. “I beat you!”

“So what?” she said pouting as everyone laughed.

“I always knew you were a sore loser.” Christen said as everyone nodded in agreement. (Y/N) scoffed shaking her head and mocking everyone.

“It’s okay baby.” I said as she looked over at me. “You won the biggest prize of all..”

“What’s that?” she asked with a confused look on her face.

“My heart of course…”

“Oh” she said as I scowled at her lack of enthusiasm. “I mean…that’s only thing I need in life.”

“Nice save.” Kelley said as I turned my glare to her.

“Thanks.” She said as I crossed my arms and gave her a look. “What? It’s just so easy to mess with you. Like, you make it so easy…”

“That does not mean you should do it.” Christen said as Tobin and them all were laughing.

“Exactly.” I said agreeing with Christen.

“(Y/N), I think your best friend is turning on you.” Rose said as (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

“This joke isn’t even funny anymore.” Christen said as I smiled at the irritated expression on (Y/N)’s face.

“It was never funny.” She said crossing her arms

“You just make it so easy though.” I said mocking her as she smiled at me.

“Alright everyone…back to practice.” Jill yelled as we all got back to our practice. The Sweden game was tomorrow so we had light training for the day to prepare ourselves. (Y/N) was super pumped because we both were returning to the starting lineup. It blows my mind that she is actually worried about not starting when she is one of our more technical players.

The last few weeks have been really nice for us. It’s been a good balance of time we have got to spend alone and time with the team. I have had to do more press than usual, so I know she has spent a ton of time with like Christen and Becky. It feels like we are in a great place though. I feel like we have been in a really blissful place that hasn’t really stopped since we got together. One thing I don’t like though is that I have been feeling this sense of dread, like somehow that blissful place is going to be ruined. I can’t explain it fully. I just keep feeling like something is going to happen.

(Y/N) has reassured me that nothing could break us apart, but I don’t feel like that’s fully true. Despite how open and honest we have been with each other; I know there are things that we are keeping from each other. I thought after she opened up to me that I would feel a little better, but I can’t help but feel like there is more stuff she isn’t saying. As for me and what I am keeping from her, let’s just say I messed up. I didn’t cheat or anything, but I do think it definitely counts as a betrayal.

“Alex!” I was broken out of my thoughts by Allie who gave me a weird look. “Come on…trainings done for the day.”

I turned to see mostly everyone either walking off or standing in a little circle talking. I spotted my girlfriend walking with Tierna, Sonnett, Rose, and Sam. They were walking towards the group of Christen, Tobin, Pinoe, and Ash.

“Are you alright?” Kelley asked as I nodded my head.

“I just have a lot on my mind…” I said as she nodded her head. I stretched out a little as we made our way towards the group. I took a sip of the water bottle in my hand as Kelley gave me a concerned look.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” I said as we joined the other group. She nodded her head as I walked towards (Y/N).

“Hey baby…you good?” she asked as I nodded my head. She wrapped an arm around me as I let my head drop to her shoulder.

“So, real talk. Do we think Sweden is going to put their best lineup out there?” Ash asked as some people shrugged their shoulders.

“I don’t think so…they are already onto the knockouts and when you consider which side of the bracket is more appealing…I really don’t think they want to win the group.” Sonnett said taking a sip of water from the bottle that I brought over.

“You don’t think they want to play Spain? Or potentially France or Brazil?” Pinoe asked with an amused smile as everyone laughed.

“God, I can’t believe that’s going to be our side of the bracket if we win…” Sam said closing her eyes with an exasperated look on her face.

“I can’t wait…” (Y/N) said with a grin.

“Psychopath…” Tierna mumbled as they both laughed.

“You want to be the best…you got to beat the best. I don’t want to win this tournament saying we took the easy way to the final.” She said as several people nodded their heads.

“Amen to that.” Allie said as we all then headed to the locker room.

Once we got back to the hotel, it was mainly relaxing and doing last minute game talks. I took a quick shower and smiled when I came out to see (Y/N) facetiming with Santiago.

“I just feel like you’re being a little bitch about this.” I heard him say as she rolled her eyes.

“You say the kindest things…” she said as I laid down next to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist as I rested my head on her shoulder.

“Is that Alex?” he asked as she gave me a look.

“Who else could this possibly be?” she asked as he started yelling at her.

“I didn’t want to be rude and assume that it was her. What if it wasn’t her?” he yelled as I laughed.

“Who else would be cuddled up to me like this?” she asked with an exasperated look on her face.

“Your whole team is freakishly close…it could have been anyone.”

“I hate you. Goodnight Santi.” She said as she hung up on him as he yelled back goodnight to her.

“He’s going to yell at you for hanging up on him” I said as she nodded her head.

“Probably.” She commented leaning in to give me a kiss. I leaned into her as I soon found myself fully on top of her.

She sat up with me in her lap as things got a little heated. One of her hands slipped under my shirt as the other gripped my thigh. My hands were gripping her face and neck as if my life depended on it. Eventually, air was a necessity as we pulled away. We stared at each other for a moment as we tried to catch our breath.

“We should really stop.” She mumbled as I nodded going in for another kiss. Our little make out session continued for a few more minutes, before I realized that she was right. We really needed to stop. I pulled away with her trying to follow my lips. I had my eyes closed trying to regain my composure. She wasn’t on the same page of relaxing for a moment, because she immediately went for my neck. It didn’t take her long to find my sweet spot as I bit back the moan that was threatening to come out.

“If we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to stop at all.” I said as she continued placing kisses on my neck.

“What’s wrong with that?” she asked as I reluctantly pulled away completely this time.

“We have to play tomorrow which means we need our sleep tonight.” I said as her dark eyes focused on my lips. She licked her lips as she nodded her head. “(Y/N), I am serious.”

She looked up into my eyes as she seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in. She nodded her head as she slowly laid back down.

“If I lay down, are you going to behave?” I asked as she sent me a mischievous look

“Of course, I will love…” she said as I laid down next to her. She turned a little to wrap her arms around me.

“If I have to sleep in the other bed, because you can’t control yourself…I am going to be mad.”

“Alright I hear you….no funny business.” She said with an amused tone. She placed a quick kiss on my neck before snuggling into me. “Last one I promise.” I rolled my eyes before leaning over and turning off the light.

Once morning came, I headed into the bathroom to start getting ready but stopped when I took a look in the mirror.

“Son of a bitch.” I mumbled as I immediately exited the bathroom. I jumped onto the bed and picked up the pillow and started smacking (Y/N) with it.

“You” smack. “left” smack. “A.” smack. “Mark.” Smack. “You.” Smack. “Idiot.” Smack.

“Hey…” she groaned catching the pillow in her hand as she sat up. I glared at her as she frowned, but then bit back a smile once seeing my neck. “It’s not that noticeable.”

“Not that noticeable!?” I glared at her as she frowned most likely at being yelled at.

“Just put like some concealer on it…” she said as my glare intensified.

“I could kill you.” I said as I stood up and got off the bed with the pillow still in hand.

“At least everyone will know your taken now…” She let out a little laugh as I turned and chucked the pillow at her. 

I took a quick shower before getting out and looking into the mirror. I heard a little knock on the bathroom door as I turned to open the door. She was on the other side with a small smile.

“For what its worth, I am sorry.” She said as I examined the dark spots on my neck. I turned to her with a glare. The rest of the morning consisted of us getting ready while she continued saying sorry. I rolled my eyes as she grabbed my arm before we exited the room.

“I love you.” She said as I turned towards her not hiding my irritation at all. Technically, I knew she wasn’t trying to leave a mark. It just got way too heated last night. Too heated for being in the middle of the World Cup at least. I wanted to be mad, but the little pout she was giving me was making my anger melt away. “I doubt anyone will notice.”

“They are going to notice. The teasing that we have already been getting is only going to intensify.”

“Probably. All I need to do is make one inappropriate joke and then they won’t want to talk about it anymore…”

“True.” I mumbled knowing that she was right. “I love you too.”

I leaned in and gave her a kiss as we exited the room.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

As we got downstairs, I knew Alex was a little on edge because of the marks on her neck. She tried covering them up with makeup but if you looked close enough you could see them. I really hadn’t intended on giving her any. I just got a little worked up last night. We entered the room for breakfast and found our seats as everyone was making their way into the room. I knew that someone was most likely going to notice, but I hope that they just wouldn’t say anything.

“Is that a hickey?”

Well, it was wishful thinking. I groaned when Alex immediately turned bright red, then whipped around and glared at me as I gave her an apologetic look.

“It is!” Kelley said as she tried to examine her neck to which Alex slapped her hands away. I glared at Kelley as everyone who was at the table were squinting and trying to get a good look at Alex’s neck.

“You didn’t have that yesterday which means you two were a little busy last night…” Ash said wiggling her eyebrows at us.

“Gross.” Tierna mumbled from next to me.

“Are you guys having sex?” Allie asked as Alex leaned on the table with her head in her hands. I sank down in my seat a little not liking all the personal questions.

“I don’t want to know.” Christen said putting her hands over her ears. I fought the internal battle to annoy christen because I didn’t want to further embarrass Alex. I mean…we haven’t had sex.

“We aren’t having sex.” I said as Alex turned her head to face me. I was convinced it was just going to be a permanent glare for today.

“Alex’s neck says otherwise.” Pinoe said taking a bite of her food.

“We aren’t having sex.” I repeated shaking my head as there were a few huffs around the table.

“Really?” Kelley asked with an incredulous look.

“I would have thought that would be the first thing you guys did when you got together.” Allie said as Kelley and them nodded in agreement

“How can we when you never leave us alone…” I said with a glare as mostly everyone seemed to catch the hint.

“Anyway…the game today…” Tobin said changing the subject.

I leaned over a little and rubbed Alex’s back. I was trying to comfort her because I knew she was extremely irritated.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. She leaned back and shook her head as she started eating. I sighed as I started eating my food. As we were finishing up, she stood and left without saying a word to me. I knew deep down that she was mad at the situation and not at me. She wasn’t easily embarrassed which is how I knew this was somewhat serious.

“Hey, we didn’t mean to upset you guys…” Kelley said with an apologetic look.

“You guys just don’t know when to quit.” I said as I moved to go after Alex.

Once I caught up to the forward, I took her hand in mine. She tried to pull it away at first, but after a moment she relaxed a little.

“Alex, I am sorry.”

“I know.” She turned towards me as I frowned. “I’m not mad at you. I just…it’s hard enough going through everything and figuring everything out with you without all of them prying like that.”

“I know.” I pulled her in for a hug. “What can I do?”

“Hold me for a minute. You always bring me comfort.” She mumbled as I nodded my head.

“I can do that.” I held her in my arms for a moment before she pulled away a little.

“I love you.” I smiled as I leaned in to give her a kiss.

“I love you too.”

Eventually, we rejoined the group to which everyone apologized. She seemed to brush it off, but I knew it was probably going to bother her for a little while.

After breakfast, we had a quick team meeting before heading to the stadium. All this excitement almost made me forget we have a game today. A game that I get to play in!

Once we arrived at the stadium, we went through our warm-ups and did the anthem and got the game started. The first half got off to a great start with a goal from Lindsay who was able to send it into the back of the net while it was in traffic after a corner kick from Pinoe. The rest of the first half was pretty uneventful, as we headed to the locker room. We did our usual talk of tactics and strategy. What was working and what wasn’t working. Then, we got back out for the second half.

Alex came out of the game for Carli in the 46th minute, which was a bummer, but we were celebrating again in the 50th minute when Tobin’s shot went into the back of the net. It was an incredible shot. I groaned when they wanted to do a VAR check though.

“I’m going to be pissed if they call this off.” I said to Tobin who nodded her head. The ref came back a moment later and motioned that the goal would stand.

“Thank god.” Tobin mumbled as I got back into position to continue the game. About 10 minutes later, I l saw my number go up as Christen was standing on the sideline. I walked over to her and gave her a hug.

“Good luck.” I said as she smiled and ran onto the field. I made my way over to where the others were sitting.

“Good job!” Alex said as I smiled and sat next to her. We continued watching the game and I grinned when the final whistle went.

“Onto the Knockouts!” I said as everyone nodded.

Everything seemed to fly by as we got back to the hotel. The next two-three days went quick as we did travel and training and recovery. We finally had half a day off. We were able to get the hotel we were staying in to let us use one of their conference rooms to mess around in. The game was tomorrow so we were all hanging out trying to keep a good mood around. We knew the tournament was more do or die now because one loss and your out. Spain isn’t a team that’s just going to let us win. They are going to put up a fight and will probably be the toughest team we’ve faced so far…at least in my opinion.

Anyways, we are all hanging out like I said. We set up some of the chairs as if they were a net so we could do some soccer tennis. On my side was Mal and Rose. On the other side, was Kelley, Sonnet, and Lindsay. Alex and some of the other girls were watching as we kept rotating between teams.

“You’re cheating!” Sonnett yelled as I shook my head.

“I’m not cheating!” I said as Rose and Mal were practically on the ground laughing. “It’s not my fault that you suck!”

“Ohhhh, we want to go there now do we….” Kelley said as I laughed at the defender. We continued for another few minutes before my team won.

“Yes!” Mal said as she high fived me. “I knew we picked right with you…”

I shook my head with a laugh as Alex and them stood ready to do another rotation of teams. I winked at her as she shook her head. Some of us jumped when we heard the loud bang of the door being thrown open. I turned to see Christen with a furious look on her face. I sighed preparing myself for the fight that was coming. I thought I had a little more time…Tobin and JJ were both behind her with nervous looks as Christen stormed up to me. She didn’t say a word as she shoved me.

“Okay…” I said as she glared at me. Some of the other girls reacted by moving like they were going to separate us before I held up my hand to say stop.

“You are such an asshole!” Christen said as she glared at me. “How could you do this to me?”

“Okay…let me explain.”

“No, I don’t want to hear it.” She said pointing at me.

“You just asked me how I could do this…let me explain.”

“You knew how important it was…” she got in my face again as I swallowed and looked down for a moment.

“Christen please…” I said softly wishing for her to let me explain.

“Someone want to explain what’s going on?” Kelley asked with confusion as everyone looked between us with worried expressions.

“Why don’t you tell them what you did?” she asked crossing her arms. “Tell them how you betrayed me.”

“It’s not like that…”

“Then, what is it like…you used information I told you that I asked you not to tell anyone else…for your own personal gain. You are the most selfish person I have ever met.”

“Okay seriously…what happened?” Pinoe asked looking between us. I stayed silent for a moment as Christen scoffed.

“Everyone knows that I have been trying to help LAFC become an official NWSL team. The selection counsel changed their minds about allowing a team into the league next year and released a list of requirements that they gave to prospect teams. One of the requirements was that the team had to have an already established stadium. It’s been the biggest struggle for all the prospect teams, because its hard to find a stadium that accommodates everything. LAFC has been in talks with the owner of a stadium that is still being built. They didn’t want to just have the woman share with the men. So, they decided to find one that the woman could use to show that they care about growing the game.” She took a breath as I continued looking down.

“The stadium isn’t set to finish construction for another three months. It’s been a huge secret because they don’t have the money yet to buy the stadium which is why they agreed to finalize the deal after the construction is done. Only a few people really knew about the deal because they didn’t want to risk another team stealing the contract from them…I was one of them. I told (Y/N) about the deal months ago. Next thing I know, I am getting a call today from one of the LAFC reps freaking out because the rights to the stadium has just been purchased by FC Barcelona. Upon finding out that Barcelona has purchased the stadium, The NWSL selection counsel has greenlit them becoming an official team for next season. They are set to announce their first signing after the World Cup which will be…big surprise (Y/N) (Y/LN).” 

I closed my eyes as soon as she was done. There were a few gasps around the room as I lifted my head to look at Christen. There was so much emotion on her face. Anger and Betrayal. It hurt to know I was the cause of it.

“You’re leaving Utah?” Kelley asked looking at me. I nodded my head not breaking eye contact from Christen.

“Why would you do this?” she asked me again. “You knew how important it was for me to get to go home to LA.”

“I know that!” I said with an exasperated look on my face. “I know how important it is for you, but it’s important for me too. I saw the opportunity and I took it. You would have done the same.”

“You knew how important it was for me to be with my family!” she yelled at me causing some of the people in the room to flinch.

“It’s important for me too! I’d like to go home too! You don’t think it’s important for me to be with my family too?”

“What family do you have?” she yelled. “The one that kicked you out and doesn’t speak to you anymore?”

“Christen!” I heard Kelley hiss out.

I froze and it truly felt like everyone and everything stopped. I was paralyzed as I stared at her. It seemed to be the thing that snapped her out of her anger as she immediately had guilt on her face. I felt my throat tighten and my eyes start to water.

“How do you…” I turned my head slightly to look at Kelley who had a guilty expression as she closed her eyes upon seeing me look at her.

My thoughts were going in overdrive as my mind worked to connect all the dots. Christen knew. Judging by the look on her face, Kelley was the one who told her. So, who told Kelley? I knew this answer but for a split second I didn’t want to believe it.

I took a breath and then stepped to turn my body towards her. I lifted my eyes to Alex who had a pained expression to match my own.

“Wait…” she said attempting to come closer to me. I held up my hand stopping her in her tracks.

“You told Kelley…” I whispered as the tears started to flow from my eyes. She tried to come closer again as I took a step back.

“It was an accident, I-”

“An accident?” I asked with a look of disbelief. “How do you accidentally reveal my biggest secret to someone?”

“(Y/N)…please…”

“No!” I said as I frustratingly wiped my tears. “This isn’t a joke. It’s my life. I was fine with no one knowing. I was fine not being open. I was fine with all of you thinking I’m an emotionally challenged dick.” No one spoke for a moment as everyone was processing the information they had just heard.

“You know what…Fuck this.” I turned towards Christen who looked like she wanted to say something but remained quiet. “Fuck you.” I said pointing to her as I turned towards Kelley already making my way towards the door. “Fuck you.” I turned to Alex who look like she desperately wanted to follow me…I hesitated for a moment. “Fuck you most of all…” With that, I stormed out of the room.

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Aftermath

(Y/N) POV:

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The pain in my chest was starting to become unbearable as I made my way down the hallway. I was trying to keep my composure as I finally got to the door I had been looking for. I banged on it for a few moments before it was pulled open. I don’t think she knew what was going, but she pulled me into the room as I struggled to breathe.

“Are you okay?” Tierna asked looking up from her position on her bed as I tried to catch my breath. Everything felt too loud and too quiet all at the same time. My thoughts were screaming at me as Becky took a firm grip on my shoulders as I gave her a panicked look.

“I need you to relax.” She said as I relaxed slightly. I knew I was safe with her. Nothing could touch me while she was right there. “What’s going on?”

“They all know…” I mumbled as she frowned for a moment…and then realization flooded her face as I looked down closing my eyes. She pushed me towards the bed and had me sit down as she got me a water bottle from their fridge.

“Drink this.” She said as she looked deep in thought. Tierna was looking back and forth between us with confusion until her phone dinged. She looked down and read the message she had just received. She then looked back up with a sympathetic look as I looked away from her. I drew my legs up to my chest as I placed my head in between them.

“Please don’t…” I mumbled as Becky placed a hand on my shoulder. She pushed me slightly trying to get me to lay down.

“Lay down…” she said as I looked up at her with pain in my eyes. “You should rest.”

I did as I was told letting myself lay down in her bed. The overwhelming amount of emotions must have been to much for my body, because I was out like a light.

I don’t know how much time had passed when I woke up. It was significantly darker outside and all I could hear was the TV playing. There were a few voices talking softly as I laid there trying to will myself to sit up. It wasn’t happening as I just listened to whoever was talking.

“She stormed out before any of us could say anything.” I heard Pinoe say as Becky sighed.

“So, where is everyone else?”

“Kelley is with Sonnett and them, Alex has herself locked up in their room with Allie I think, and I have no clue where Christen went, but I do know that Tobin, JJ, and Crystal went with her. Also, I don’t think anyone knows where (Y/N) went. I think they think she is just off by herself. I should have guessed she would be off trying to find you.”

“How did this happen?” Carli asked sounding exasperated.

“I have no idea. I was just as shocked as everyone else.” Pinoe said sounding a little defensive.

“This is a literal nightmare.” Carli said sounding more irritated. “They all are aware that we have the biggest game of the tournament tomorrow right…”

“Sorry…” they all jumped when I finally sat up. “I’ll try to plan my emotional breakdown for a more convenient time next time…”

“That’s not what I meant.” Carli said as Pinoe moved closer to me. Tierna was still on the other bed. She gave me soft look as I looked away from her.

“How are you feeling?” Becky asked as Pinoe sat next to me placing a hand on my shoulder. We haven’t always been the closest, but it was giving me a little comfort at the moment.

“Fucked up.” I mumbled as I ran my fingers through my hair. “God, I fucked everything up.”

“No, you didn’t” Pinoe said as I turned towards her. “It’s like 25% your fault.” I frowned at her statement. I didn’t see it that way at all.

“Should I call a team meeting?” Carli asked looking to Becky as my frown deepened.

“I’m not going if you do.”

“Team meetings are mandatory.”

“Fuck that.” I said as they all gave me surprised looks. I was never one to step out of order when it comes to the team. “I have no fucking desire to see anyone else right now and I can promise you that some of them don’t want to see me either.”

“On the contrary, I think Alex is dying to see you right now.” Pinoe said as I scowled.

“Fuck her…” I said as Becky gave me a look.

“Why don’t we just let everyone cool off for a little bit?” Becky said turning towards Carli as the midfielder nodded her head.

“I don’t want the situation to get worse, but maybe everyone needs a little space. Let me know if anything changes.” She said before giving me a nod and exiting the room. I rolled my eyes. I knew it was her way of showing care for all of us, but I was at my wits end with everyone. We sat in silence for a moment before Pinoe spoke up.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk about it…but what exactly did Christen mean?” I bit my lip knowing that I was going to have to tell this story so many times…maybe I could just get Pinoe to tell everyone.

“Exactly what she said…my family kicked me out and none of them speak to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I am gay.” I said turning towards her. She gave me a soft look and then pulled me in for a hug.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked softly as I dropped my head to her shoulder. I tried to fight the urge to cry because it really wasn’t a huge deal at this point. I pulled away as I wiped away the stray tear the escaped my eye.

“I don’t want sympathy or pity or anything like that.” I said as she frowned. “It was just better when everyone didn’t know.”

“Okay maybe at first…I would have, but it doesn’t change anything about you as a person. You’re still you. Your past does not define you.”

“It’s easy to say when it’s not you.” I said which immediately shut her up. She nodded softly.

“Is that not something that goes for everyone though?” Becky asked as I looked up at her. “It’s easy to give words of encouragement to someone when you’re not in their situation. It’s why I don’t say anything at all. Sound familiar.”

“Please don’t quote me to me…” I said with a small smile as she smiled at me.

“That’s why you’re so bad at comforting people?” Pinoe asked as I nodded my head.

“I’m not going to try to pretend to understand someone else’s situation or anything like that because I’ll never be able to.”

“Psychopath.” Tierna mumbled from her bed as I turned with a smile towards the forward. She shook her head, but she was smiling which told me she was joking.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” I asked looking at Becky who frowned and seemed to think about it for a moment. She then nodded her head as I let out a breath of relief.

“Okay. I need to go deal with everyone else.” Pinoe said standing up. “Feel better.”

“Thanks.”

“Any messages you want me to pass on?” she asked as I frowned. Becky scowled at her knowing that probably wasn’t the best thing to say…

“Fuck off?”

“Okay so….that’s a no.” Pinoe said as she exited the room.

“How long do you realistically think you can avoid everyone?” Tierna asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Have you eaten?” Becky asked a moment later as I shook my head. “I’m going to go get some food.”

“I can go.” Tierna said as she stood looking between us. “What do you guys want?”

We told her what we wanted before she exited the room. I had no doubt she left so Becky and I could talk. I frowned as Becky sat down at the little desk in the room while staring at me.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked with a stern expression.

“Didn’t Pinoe already tell you?”

“I want to hear your side.” I looked up at that and huffed slightly.

“We were playing soccer tennis downstairs when Christen stormed into the room. She started yelling at me. She found out about me telling the Barcelona reps about the stadium that was up for sale in LA. They purchased it and so the NWSL greenlit them becoming a team. She also found out that I have already signed a contract with them, so I get to go play in LA next year.” Becky sighed as she gave me a disappointed look.

“That’s why you didn’t seem too enthusiastic about renewing your contract with Utah.”

“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it.”

“It’s your decision. I’m not going to hate you for that. I think if you were going to talk to someone. It should have been Christen.” She said softly as I nodded.

“I know.”

“So, then what happened?” I bit my lip trying to keep it together long enough to get through the next part.

“We started arguing and then when I asked her about whether or not it was important for me to be with my family. She said “what family? Yours threw you out and don’t speak to you anymore.” Or something like that.”

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” she asked me softly.

“Nope…” I said as I looked down at the ground. “Alex told Kelley who told Christen. So much for your breakthrough.”

“(Y/N)…you couldn’t have known she was going to tell someone…” she said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“She shouldn’t have told anyone…it was the one thing I asked of her…don’t tell anyone and she couldn’t even do that.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked as I frowned

“I have no idea.” I looked up and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t particularly care at the moment.”

“You do care.” She said rolling her eyes slightly.

“Why should I? They didn’t care enough to not gossip about me.” I shook my head as we both quieted down for a moment. “She’s not wrong though…that’s the part that really hurts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Christen.” I said looking down again. “She’s right. What family do I have? I don’t have anyone.”

“Well, that’s garbage.” Becky scoffed. “Also, full offense taken to that.” I furrowed my eyebrows at her as she shook her head. “IF you really think you’re not a part of my family, then I have failed you.”

“That’s different.”

“How so?” she asked crossing her arms with an angered expression. “Because we aren’t biologically related? Because I haven’t known you for your whole life?”

“It’s just different.”

“Listen to me…and listen good…you are a part of my family. I don’t care what you think. I would not make a fuss over you if I didn’t care about you.” I looked up as she came closer and pulled me up into a hug.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled into her shoulder.

“It’s okay. I need you to realize that you are so loved. The people who keep you around love you and I personally would be devastated if you weren’t in my life.” I started to cry slightly as I let myself be comforted by her.

We stopped talking about it for a moment which made me feel quite grateful. I could only take so much emotion for the night. Tierna came back not much later after that with food. Though, she wasn’t alone. Mal, Rose, Sam, Sonnett, and Lindsay were with her when she came back.

‘Sorry’ she mouthed to me as I shrugged my shoulders accepting the food from her.

“Is it okay if we sit in here?” They were all looking at me as I gave them a look before turning to Becky who nodded her head.

“Not my room.” I mumbled as Becky gave me a look. ‘Be Nice’ she mouthed to me as I rolled my eyes.

They all sat down and got comfortable as they stayed quiet, but not like a comfortable quiet more like an awkward quiet.

“Just ask your questions…” I groaned as they all looked around at each other.

“So, like what Christen said…” Sonnett started as I rolled my eyes.

“Is true…I got kicked out of my family for being gay. I was 16 and no, I haven’t spoken to them really at all since it happened.” They all nodded as I frowned at Sonnett. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Kelley?”

“She’s with Ash, Ali, and Alyssa. Though, she said something about needing to talk to Alex, I-”

“Actually, you know what…I don’t care.” I said the moment ‘Alex’ came out of her mouth. I wasn’t ready to touch or even think about that mess.

“Where is everyone currently?” Becky asked giving me a glare as I rolled my eyes.

“Kelley is with Krashlyn and Alyssa. Alex is with Allie and Pinoe. Preath, JJ, and Crystal are together in JJ’s room. Abby, Jess, and AD elected to just spend their night in Jess and Abby’s room. Carli has been around, but I am unsure of where exactly she is now and now, we are all here in your room.” Lindsay said as Becky nodded.

“What happened after I left?” I asked a moment later as they all looked at each other before looking at me.

“Well, after we all got over the initial moment of you telling them what you told them…” Sam said as I grimaced. “Alex immediately started yelling at Kelley for telling Christen…Kelley tried to defend herself, but Alex wasn’t really having it. Kelley then turned to start yelling at Christen who immediately told Kelley to shut up. Alex and Christen then both looked like they were going to duke it out before Christen said she wasn’t going to fight over you…she then stormed out of the room. Alex then also stormed out of the room.”

“Poor Kelley” I mumbled sarcastically.

“I think she feels like she is taking all the blame for the situation.” Sonnett said scratching her head. “Like, everyone seems to be really mad at her so…”

“I’m not mad at her. I’m mad at Alex.” I said taking another bite of my food.

“What about Christen?”

I sat for a moment as I really thought about it. Christen wouldn’t be mad at me if I hadn’t done what I did in the first place meaning most of her anger is justified. I looked down as I tried not think about.

“God, she’s never going to forgive me.” I mumbled as they all gave me sad looks. “I did a really bad thing.”

“I mean…yeah, but I feel like you did the exact same thing that she would’ve done in your situation.” Mal said shrugging her shoulders. “You’re just trying to go home.”

That seemed to strike a chord in me as my eyes started to well up. I immediately buried my face in my arm as I let out a little sob. I felt arms wrap around me, but I couldn’t tell you who it was.

‘You’re just trying to go home.’

That was just it though. I was trying to go home. A home with my friends and their family. The only people who had ever really cared about me prior to becoming a professional player. The people who had supported me when I had nothing. When I was nothing.

I have spent so much time away from them though…could I even consider that my home anymore? Was that where I truly belonged? For a time, I thought my home could be at Kansas City. Then, that was ripped away from me and I ended up at the nightmare that was the Flash/Courage. I finally got to a place in Utah where I could’ve probably settled down, but how long before that’s ripped away too? For a hot second, I thought (more liked hoped) my home could be wherever Alex was. Now, that’s been ripped away too. LA is the only place I know won’t get ripped away from me.

“Are you okay?” Rose asked softly as I lifted my head. Tierna surprisingly was the one who had me wrapped in a hug.

“I don’t know.” I admitted as I thought about everything. “It doesn’t matter that I was trying to go home because so was she. It doesn’t take away the fact that I betrayed her.”

“So, what will you do?”

“I have no idea.” I said as I placed the food down. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah, but can I just say…learning this stuff hasn’t changed any of our opinions of you. You’re still the same old (Y/N), but like it’s also made us love you more. I know you probably don’t care, but like…we’ve all spent the last couple years playing with you and getting to know you and with all the time we have recently spent with you…I at least can say that Christen was wrong about you not having a family….You’re part of our family.” Mal said as Becky shot me a smug look. I smiled slightly as I gave Mal a soft look.

“Thanks Mal.” I said as she grinned at me.

“Same goes for me…” Sonnett said nodding her head. “Maybe not in that many words because that was a lot of words, but you’re part of my family too.”

“Yeah.” They all said as I sighed.

“Thanks guys.” I said as I leaned into Tierna who tightened her hold on me.

Eventually, everyone departed as I made myself comfortable in Becky’s bed. She rolled her eyes at me as she climbed in.

“I’m not cuddling with you like some people.” She said as I rolled my eyes.

“I’m so loveable though.”

“If you want to cuddle, then you can go back to your room where you-know-who will probably happily accept you.” She said as I shook my head. “Do you plan on forgiving her?”

“Haven’t thought about it.” I lied as the defender shook her head knowing that I have thought about it. A lot. “Do you think Christen will forgive me?”

“I don’t know. I think she is really mad, but you need to talk to her to find out.” I nodded my head as we both got comfortable before she shut the light out.

I woke up with a groan when Becky shook me awake. I had just fallen into a deep sleep. Apparently, not sleeping next to Alex for the first time in like a month and a half was brutal on me.

“Come on” she said as I groaned trying to wave her off. She slapped me with the pillow as I glared at her. “It’s game day! That usually always gets you excited.”

“I’m having trouble finding the excitement right now.” I said as she nodded her head at me.

“I know.” She stood up off the bed as I glanced over at Tierna who was sitting up in her phone.

“Hey, I have a question…” she asked looking over at me.

“What?”

“How are you going to get ready if you’re avoiding Alex, but all your stuff is in your guys room...?” I frowned at the question as I shrugged.

“I have no idea.” I mumbled as I stood up and stretched out a little. “I guess I have to go back to my room.”

“Yeah you should definitely go back to your room. Good luck.” Becky said as I grabbed my phone and keycard. I took a moment to look at my phone as I nodded at Becky. I had a ton of messages from both Alex and Kelley. Nothing from Christen. Most of Alex’s messages were her pleading with me to talk to her. Telling me that she was sorry, and she just wanted to explain. I sighed as I exited the room. The walk to mine and Alex’s room was quick as I opened the door as quietly as I could and made sure it was silent as it closed.

I noticed the bathroom was empty as I peeked around the corner and saw Alex fast asleep. I came further into the room walking over to my stuff and trying to grab my usual game day items. I frowned when I couldn’t find my warm-up jacket that I would wear during the trip from the hotel to the stadium. One quick glance up told me where it was, Alex was wearing it while also cuddling one of my other sweaters.

I looked down for a moment as my heart became heavy again. I’ve been a little more focused on trying to figure out how to deal with Christen mainly because my mind and my heart aren’t ready to touch the Alex part of this. She betrayed my trust. She took one of my deepest darkest secrets and inadvertently told everyone. It felt impossible to open up to her about that and despite me asking her not to tell anyone, she did. How could I ever trust her to keep another secret for me? 

I finished grabbing the rest of my stuff as I watched her begin to move a little. I quickly panicked grabbing my bag and exiting the room. I practically ran back to Becky’s room as Tierna opened the door. She gave me a confused look as I came in with my stuff.

“I think we thought you were going to change and stuff in your own room.”

“I was until Alex started moving. Then, I freaked out and left the room.” I mumbled as I placed my stuff on Becky’s bed. I made sure everything was organized as I placed my usual travel outfit next to the bag. I could do without the warm-up jacket for today.

“I told you to go back to your room” Becky said coming out of the bathroom as I turned towards her.

“I did” I said defensively. “See, I brought all my stuff.”

“Was Alex there?” she asked as I nodded my head.

“She was asleep. She started moving so I booked it out of there…” I said as I started changing in front of Becky. Tierna had already gone into the bathroom. Becky rolled her eyes as I pulled on my outfit for the day. She was used to this stuff, so I wasn’t really worried. Most of my teammates had seen me change before and I really had no shame in my body so…I looked down when my phone vibrated. I was getting a call from my manager.

“Hey” I said as I sat down on the bed.

“Hey (Y/N)!” he sounded pretty pumped up. “I have big news.”

“Lay it on me!”

“Barcelona becoming an official NWSL club is being announced today and as a way to get the fans excited for them. They thought it would be a good idea to announce you as their first signing for the team because you are playing Spain today. Isn’t that great?”

“Yeah…it’s fantastic.” I frowned as I started thinking about how terrible of timing this was.

“Okay I agree. They are going to send you over some artwork that their team made for you to post.”

“Okay got it.” I said as he explained a couple other things to me before hanging up.

“What was that all about?”

“They are announcing Barcelona becoming a club and me being the first signing today. They thought it was cute since we are playing Spain today.”

“Well, that’s not convenient timing.” Tierna said as I nodded my head.

“Not at all.” I mumbled as the three of us left the room. We made our way downstairs to get breakfast and to do a quick team meeting. I wasn’t looking forward to either. I knew this whole thing was going to get more complicated as time went on and the longer that none of us involved spoke. There was nothing we could really do though.

We walked into the room to get our breakfast and I had to try not to have a panic attack on the spot. Christen was sitting with Tobin, JJ, Crystal, Jmac, Alyssa, Abby, and AD. Alex was sitting with Kelley, Ashlyn, Allie, Ali, Pinoe, and Carli. I joined the table of Becky, Tierna, Mal, Sam, Rose, Sonnett, and Lindsay. Kelley and Alex must have made up.

“Are we ready for the game?” Sonnett asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know. So far today feels like a real fucking nightmare.” I commented as I created the post to announce my departure from Utah and my eventual arrival to Barcelona. “Does this sound sincere?”

Becky took my phone and read it over before nodding her head. I took the phone back and edited it to make sure there were no errors before posting it. I continued eating then with some of them commenting on how it didn’t feel real until I posted the announcement that I was going to be a Barcelona player.

“So, are you still going to play with Utah?”

“I’ll play with Utah until the end of the season” I said as they nodded their heads.

“I think Christen saw your announcement.” Sam said as I turned and noticed the forward looking at her phone. Clearly, she was fuming.

“She already knew. Nothing we can do now.” I said as I continued eating. Once we were done, we made our way to the team meeting. I had yet to really acknowledge Alex which was making me feel bad just a little considering…but I was also really mad at her. I still wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach the situation with her.

The team meeting basically was the same as every team meeting. Reminding us of our goals and what we need to remember for ourselves and to play our game. Yeah, except the amount of tension in the room had quadrupled. You could tell something was off. For starters, I was attached to Becky and had yet to really leave her side. Christen was with Tobin which wasn’t unusual, but she looked more angry than usual. Alex was with Kelley and Allie again not unusual except this time she was looking at me every five seconds.

Once the meeting was over, we made our way to the bus that was going to take us to the stadium. I quickly found my seat and started talking to Becky about the game. I made a point to sit by the window so that I didn’t really have to look at anyone else except Becky. Strangely, the younger kids like Mal, Tierna, Rose, Sam, and them had made a point to stay near me. Becky said something about them being worried and trying to make sure that I was comfortable the whole time. It was weird to have them all fussing over me.

When we arrived at the stadium, I got off the bus and was walking with Becky when I felt an arm wrap around me. I jumped slightly but relaxed when I saw JJ. She gave me a small smile before pulling me in a little and kissing my forehead.

“I still love you.” She said as I chuckled slightly

“Good to know.” I said as she grinned at me. We kept walking towards the locker room when we ran into some of the members of the Spanish National Team. Their faces seemed to light up a little when they saw us as they came over.

“Hey” I recognized the faces of Alexia Putellas, Leila Ouahabi and Mapi Leon. “We were hoping to catch you before the game, so this works out.”

“Hello” I said immediately knowing that all three were looking at me.

“Welcome to Barcelona” Alexia said with a bright smile that got me to match her smile. Mapi rolled her eyes at the midfielder as she held out her hand. I shook it as she gave me a smile.

“We can’t wait to play with you.” I furrowed my eyebrows at them.

“Oh, I’m not playing in Spain.” I said as they chuckled.

“We know. Some of us were given the option of going over and playing on the team in the NWSL. We all said yes.” Leila said laughing slightly. I grinned at the information.

“Hell yeah” I said as Becky and JJ laughed at my reaction. “I’m so excited. Do you know who else is going to come over?”

“Lieke and Stef. All the others said they wanted to stay.”

“Lieke? Like, Lieke Martens?” I said in disbelief as they grinned at me. “Holy shit…”

“Yeah, we should take a picture…I mean if that’s alright.” I nodded my head as the four of us crowded together and snapped a picture. Alexia captioned it ‘Future Teammate Vibes’ and posted it to her Instagram Story. I smiled making a mental note to go and repost it later.

“I’ll see you guys out there.” I said as they nodded. I walked with Becky towards the locker room with a giant grin on my face.

“You seem to be in a better mood” Mal said as I entered the room. I nodded my head.

“That’s probably the best news I’ve received in a while.” I said looking at JJ who shook her head.

“What news?” Tierna asked me as I caught some of the attention of the girls around the room including Christen and Alex.

“Apparently, some of the Barcelona girls in Spain are going to come over and play in the NWSL. Including, Mapi Leon, Alexia Putellas, Lieke Martens and a couple others.”

“That’s dope.”

“I know…”

“You practically fangirled over Lieke Martens…” JJ said with an amused smile

“Yeah…have you seen her play?” I said as they laughed. “Oh my gosh I’m so excited.”

I grinned as I made my way to my locker to start getting ready for warm-ups. I jumped slightly when someone invaded my personal space. I turned to see Kelley with a nervous expression.

“Can I talk to you?” I frowned but nodded as we walked outside the locker room and found an area that was empty. I motioned for her to start speaking knowing we didn’t have much time before we had to be out there.

“First off, I am so sorry. I know technically it’s my fault that Christen knew which led to everyone knowing, but I wanted you to know I feel horrible. Secondly, I know you’re mad at Alex. I think anyone can tell, but it really was an accident. She didn’t mean to tell me.”

“Okay…you wouldn’t have known at all if Alex had not told you. So, while I appreciate the apology for it spreading…not completely your fault. Also, can you explain how it someone accidentally spills a secret like that? Because that’s the part that makes no sense to me.”

“Okay, so we were talking and hanging out right? It was before I figured out at least in my mind why you and Christen refused to admit you were best friends. So, I was talking to Alex about all my theories and I implied that Christen knew more about you than she did. Obviously, you of all people know how easy it is to irritate Alex because she is most definitely the jealous type.” I nodded at the statement because she wasn’t totally wrong.

“Anyway, I kind of started just really being adamant that Christen knew more things about you than she did, and she started getting really frustrated. I should have stopped. I pushed too hard and she ended up talking about your family. She didn’t even tell us the whole story, but it was enough for us to connect the dots. I should have left it alone, but I was curious if Christen knew anything, so I asked her about it…and she connected the dots about everything and then that’s how she found out.”

“What all did she say that you were able to guess?” I asked in confusion.

“She just said that you don’t talk to your family at all and that you haven’t since you were 16…that they didn’t respect who you are as a person…I will admit Allie and I asked a few questions and her refusal to answer gave it away…” I frowned as I really thought about it.

“She still shouldn’t have said anything Kelley. It was one secret that I told her and now everyone knows…”

“Because of Christen though…” she defended as I sighed.

“You told Christen!” I said with an exasperated look on my face as the defender frowned at me. “And Alex told you…”

“I know but…”

“You need to leave it alone now Kelley. I forgive you, but I need you stop talking about it to me until I figure out what I am going to do with the other two. You want details talk to literally anyone else because everyone seems to know at this point.”

She nodded as we headed back into the locker room. There were a few concerned gazes from some of the girls as I changed really quick and headed out to do warm-ups. They seemed to fly by as we were soon in the tunnel. I was in between JJ and Abby as we waited to walk out. I knew Alex was looking at me but, I chose to look across the tunnel at Alexia who grinned at me.

“Good Luck.” I said as she nodded her head. She took a step out of her line and opened her arms as I met her hug.

“You too!” she said as she got back in her line. I looked at JJ who shook her head. I spared a glance at Alex who had a frown on her face. She was looking at Alexia and then turned to look at me. Her eyes softened when they met mine as I turned to start walking out.

This game was going to be an interesting one.

**To Be Continued…**


	11. We are going to be okay

(Y/N) POV:

I let out a sigh as I stood up off the ground. It was about the third time that I had fallen in the span of five minutes. I understood wanting to be aggressive especially if you know that our team has a high-powered offense, but this is ridiculous. I rolled my eyes slightly when the ref didn’t do anything about my fall.

The game had just started, and I was already over it. I could tell that we weren’t playing the way we usually do. Usually, we are in sync and I can read what my teammates are going to do before they do it, but apparently that wasn’t happening today.

It was the 5th minute when Tobin got taken down. The penalty was given, and celebrations followed when Pinoe sent the ball into the back of the net. It was only three minutes later when a mistake was made, and Spain got a goal. I groaned as I shook my head irritation. This so was not our game. None of us were playing well at all. The first half continued with all of us not being in sync and basically fighting the Spanish team. The whole thing was extremely frustrating.

The talks during halftime felt pointless because we were being told the exact same stuff we were told prior to going out. It clearly wasn’t working though. I wanted to check on Alex because I knew she took a few hits during the first half, but it felt like it would be too awkward especially because she was talking to Pinoe and Tobin with Christen so I just felt like it was better if I stayed away.

“Hey.” I turned to look at Crystal who gave me a small smile. “Are you good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I mumbled as she frowned.

“You’re not playing like you’re good.” She said as I nodded

“I know.” I said as I took a sip of some water. JJ came over and started discussing tactics with us as we made our way out of the locker room. Pinoe and Alex caught up with us as we all talked about changing the game plan just a little.

“We need to slow down the attack.” I said as they nodded their heads. “This fast tempo shit is exactly what they want. I feel like maybe we should slow it down and build out the back. Draw them in and then catch them there.”

We got back out onto the field as the second half started. Nothing changed to be honest. They were still playing aggressively; except this time, I was at my wits end. So, I was fighting back at least just a little. In the 64th minute, Alex got hit with a dirty tackle and I swear I was seeing red. I stood back a little glaring at the ref who was trying to tell Pinoe and Kelley that she wasn’t going to card the player.

I noticed Torrecilla trying to get the ball from Alex who stubbornly wasn’t giving it up. Alex was on the ground and Torrecilla was standing but she was invading Alex’s personal space. That seemed to be what made me snap. I walked towards them as I grabbed the back of Torrecilla’s jersey pulling her backwards and then putting myself between her and Alex. I glared at Torrecilla as my jaw and fists clenched.

“Back Off.” I said as she went to take a step towards me. I shoved her backwards and I clearly won because she took a step back after that. I turned and knelt down next to Alex to make sure she was alright.

“Are you okay?” I asked the forward softly as she nodded her head. I stood and offered her my hand as I pulled her up. Her other hand came to rest on my shoulder as I instinctively rested my hand on her waist.

“Thanks.” She said as I let go of her. I nodded my head as I moved to get the game back going. The next big moment came not long after that in the 70th minute when I was in the box. Alex and I were both going for the ball. She backed off a little knowing I had the better angle. I wasn’t expecting to trip. Torrecilla brushed my leg enough for the ref to call it.

The ref immediately awarded the penalty as I sat for a moment. Alex came over and offered me her hand as I stood. Mapi and them were arguing with the ref as I had an internal battle. On one hand, it probably shouldn’t be a penalty. She brushed my leg, but not enough for me to fall. On the other hand, this is the round of sixteen and we don’t have time to be nice to anyone. Also, this is the same bitch who wouldn’t leave Alex alone. I groaned when the ref decided to do a VAR check. Alex was supposed to take the penalty, but due to the extra time it was taking. Pinoe was going to take it.

I stood off to the side as I watched Pinoe take the penalty. I grinned when it went in. We celebrated and then got back to the game. The rest of the game continued with Spain throwing everything at us. Alex and I both got subbed out around the same time for Carli and Lindsay. I could have collapsed on the ground in actual relief when the game ended. I went around shaking the hands of my opponents and hugging my teammates.

“(Y/N)” I turned when I saw Alexia approaching me. I smiled as I hugged the midfielder. She frowned at me as I gave her a sad smile.

“You guys outplayed us.” I admitted as she nodded her head.

“I know.” She said as Mapi and Jenni approached us. “Just how it goes sometimes.”

“I agree on that.” I said as I hugged Mapi and shook Jenni’s hand.

“Sorry about the rough tackles.” Mapi said with a sheepish smile as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Just how it goes sometimes. I am sorry for almost killing your teammate.” I said as they laughed. “She got too close…”

“Your girlfriend, right?” Mapi asked as I looked at her with wide eyes. “It’s really obvious.”

“She is…” I said as they smiled at me.

“You guys are cute.” Jenni said as I grinned at her.

“Thanks. If anything, this has made me more excited to train with you.” I said to Alexia who nodded her head.

“I agree.” She said as we continued talking for another few minutes. “Can we swap?”

“Yeah for sure.” I said as I pulled my jersey off. I handed it to her as she handed me hers. I gave her another hug before walking towards my team as they started to form the huddle. I saw Becky who rolled her eyes upon seeing me shirtless.

“Put a shirt on.” She said as I grinned at her. I pulled Alexia’s jersey on as I hugged Becky. “I’m a little overwhelmed.”

“Me too.” I said as we walked towards the rest of the team. I joined the huddle as we were given a few words before heading towards the locker room. I was able to get out of doing interviews which I don’t know how considering everything that has happened today.

I pulled the jersey off as I put it in my bag. I didn’t want to lose it. I looked around for warm-up jacket before remembering I didn’t have it because of Alex. I sighed and just opted to steal Becky’s jacket because she never really wore it. She wouldn’t mind.

It didn’t take us long to leave after that as we headed towards the hotel. Once back at the hotel, I beelined it for my room as I took a quick shower. I put on some sweats and a t-shirt before laying in bed. I had heard that Alex was going to dinner with everyone, so I wasn’t worried about her coming in and the plan was to be asleep by the time she got back.

“Hey” I said as Sebastian and Santiago came up on Facetime.

“Why hello…” they said as I grinned at them. “That was quite the game today. You played like shit.”

“Thanks Santi….you say the sweetest things to me. It really blows my mind.” I said as he laughed.

“How you been?” Seb asked me as I shrugged.

“Rough. I potentially ruined one of my best friendships ever and I have no idea what to say to my girlfriend.” I said as they gave me sad looks. “It’s whatever.”

“I think the Christen situation is complicated because what you did was fucked up. You betrayed her trust while she has already been going through some shit. That was wrong of you. You took advantage of all her hard work.”

“She used her resources.” Santiago cut Sebastian off rolling his eyes. “You did a shitty thing, but she would have done the same thing.”

“Her mother just died.” Sebastian said with an incredulous look. “You need to show some goddamn sympathy. You stole her chance to go home and yes, I know why you did it but that doesn’t make it any better. The best thing you can do now is fucking apologize. I know your childhood sucked. Your teen years sucked, but that doesn’t mean that your years as an adult have to suck. You have the chance to do the right thing and fix a friendship that quite frankly is good for you. You need someone who isn’t us or Becky to call you on your shit.” I went to open my mouth to defend myself when he continued.

“Stop being a victim. Do I think what happened to you sucked? Yes of course I do…but you have a family. We are your family. You have people who are willing to lay their lives down for you. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and focus on what you do have. You’re so stuck focusing on how much you’ve been wronged that it made you numb to hurting other people. Hurting someone who really seems to give a damn about you.”

“Damn…” Santi mumbled as I made a face. I frowned looking down. I know he’s right but doesn’t mean I like it.

“As for Alex, I get that she hurt you. She is not the first person to do it and she probably won’t be the last. I also know that you have spent how long being in love with her…are you really going to throw that away because she made one mistake. People aren’t perfect (Y/N). You should know that better than anyone. Stop being a jackass and fix these relationships because for the first time ever I can honestly say that these are people you need in your life.” Sebastian took a breath as I stared at the screen seeing if he was going to continue.

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I hear you. I do.” I said as he frowned. “I am going to fix it. I don’t know how, but I will.”

“Okay I thought you were going to say ‘but’ and I was going to have to come through this phone and fuck you up.” He said as Santiago grinned. I smiled as they both then started telling me about how much I sucked during the game. I jumped slightly when there was banging on the door. 

“I’ll call you guys back.” I said as I put the phone down and went and opened the door. I frowned when Lindsay, Mal, Rose, Tierna, and Sam were standing there. “What do you guys want?”

“For you to not be lonely…” Mal said as my frown deepened.

“I’m not lonely.” I said as they all grinned at me,

“Come on.” Rose said pouting at me. “Come hang out with us and get some food.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“That’s a lie. In all the time, I’ve known you. You never turn down food.” Tierna said as rolled my eyes.

“Fine.” I said as I turned to grab my keycard before exiting the room. The first twenty minutes was us walking around kind of doing nothing. Until I decided, I was a little hungry.

“I just was some chips from the vending machine.” I said as they all groaned.

“Eat some real food.”

“This is real food.” I said rolling my eyes. I put the money in and punched the number. I frowned when it didn’t do anything at first and then groaned when I realized my chips were stuck. I could see the girls trying not to laugh as I banged on the machine.

“Are you filming me?” I asked Rose as she shook her head, but I realized they were all filming me as I hit the machine again.

“I feel like this really represents your life right now.” Lindsay said as I laughed slightly before leaning my head on the front of the machine staring at the chips.

“Fuck me…I just want some chips.” I whined as they laughed. I kicked the machine a little and grinned when they fell down. “Yes!” I got them out and turned towards the girls with a grin as I opened the bag.

“That is definitely going on Instagram.” Mal said as I shook my head. Tierna reached into the bag taking some of my chips as I glared at her.

“Get your own.” I complained as she shook her head.

“Have you been on social media at all?” Rose asked me as I shook my head.

“Oh, you’re super famous now.” Sam commented as I furrowed my eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, Fox Soccer posted a clip of you squaring up with Torrecilla during the game. Now, everyone is like obsessed with you. Some people are obsessed because they think your hot and others because you were very clearly defending Alex. Gosh, what did Pinoe say? The Gays have discovered you or something like that.”

“She just wouldn’t leave Alex alone.” I said as they nodded. “If she had just backed up a little, I wouldn’t have had to step in.”

“It’s cute that despite how upset you are with her…you still stepped in to help her.”

“This situation…it doesn’t change how I feel. I still love her. She is still my girlfriend and me being livid pissed at her doesn’t change that.”

“So, then have you decided to forgive her?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Ask me tomorrow night.” I said as they nodded their heads.

Eventually, I did head back to my room as I realized that they completely derailed my plan. Alex was no doubt probably back and I was going to have to talk to her. I walked into the room cautiously as I glanced around for Alex. She was sitting on her bed as I dropped the keycard onto the table. She looked up and went to open her mouth when I cut her off.

“I don’t want to talk right now. I’m exhausted.” I said causing her to frown. “I will talk to you tomorrow. I don’t know when. I will come to you.”

She looked sad which hurt my heart a little, but I knew it’s what needed to be done. I changed really quick and climbed into my bed. All the exhaustion I felt made it easy for me to pass out the moment I got comfortable.

Once I woke up, I noticed Alex was still asleep in her bed. I changed really quick into my recovery clothes before walking out of the room. I know I need to talk to her, but I will later. I went and bothered Becky for a while and had breakfast with her and the youngins…who all proceeded to give me shit over the vending machine incident.

The first recovery option was the pool which mostly everyone was a part of. I walked into the area and decided it was time to have my first conversation. I walked over towards the forward and sat down next to her. She wasn’t fully in the pool. She only had her legs in as I waited for a moment to see if she would tell me to go away.

“Are you going to speak or are we going to sit here all day?” Christen snapped as I nodded my head. I deserved that.

“Are you going to let me get through what I need to say?” I asked as she gave me a calculated look before nodding her head.

“You don’t have to forgive me. I don’t think I actually expect you to. I just want you to know…you’re right. I am selfish. I am an asshole. Everything I do is for the benefit of myself and I really suck at caring for others. When I was growing up, I struggled because what I was taught to believe and what I actually believed were two different things. I was taught to hate everything about myself without realizing that those parts were the best parts. I struggled between exploring my sexuality and hiding every little thing from my family. When they finally kicked me out, they gave me a choice. I could either choose to be “normal” and stay or choose to be myself and leave. I chose myself. I decided that day that no matter what I would always choose myself no matter who it hurt. I would put myself first. I’ve hurt a lot of people doing that. Including you.” She looked at me her face still showing anger but softening a little bit.

“I took advantage of you when you were vulnerable and that was really shitty of me. It’s debatably the worst thing I have ever done. I don’t say this often, but I wish I could have done things differently. I wish that I had stopped to really consider how hurt you would be. How much I was betraying you and your trust by sharing that information you gave me….I wish I could go back and tell myself that it’s not worth it because this home and family that I’ve been looking for is something I have already found. I found it in Becky who never fails to be there for me. I found it in Alex who loves me despite all my damaged parts, and I found it in you…my best friend…who I now realize is more important than some stupid club.”

“I can’t take back what I did and like I said…I don’t expect you to forgive me anytime soon. You should know though that I’m going to do whatever I can to get your trust back.” I looked down for a moment before looking back up at the forward. “This isn’t the life I necessarily saw for myself. It’s the one I got though and it’s better because you’re in it. So, do know that I am not giving up until we are friends again.”

We were silent for a moment as I let her take in everything I said. I waited a moment before I felt a hard smack on my shoulder.

“Ow!” I said as I rubbed my shoulder. “I deserved that.”

“I hate you so much.” She said as I stared at her. “I hate that you did that to me. I hate the way its made me feel.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are and that’s the part that sucks. I know that you’re sorry. I can tell from the way you act. You really hurt me.”

“I know.” I said with a frown as the forward gave me a sad look.

“After everything I’ve been through, you still managed to hurt me.” I looked down feeling the guilt build in my heart.

“I know and I wish I could take it back and change what I did. You didn’t deserve it.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Please…I am begging you…do not ever do something like this again…it’s one thing to get hurt by regular people…it’s a whole crueler pain when it’s your best friend.”

“I know and I am sorry. I don’t think I will ever be able to apologize enough, but my words are true. I’m not going to give up until you and I are back on solid terms.” I said as she nodded her head.

“I’m still mad at you and it’s going to take me a while to really actually trust you again and for us to be back where we were before…but I do need you around as lame as it is…I don’t want to lose our friendship because you don’t know how to get your head out of your ass…so just don’t do it again please.” 

“Deal.” I said softly as she nodded her head. She rested her head on my shoulder as we sat for a moment before I was pushed into the water. Once I resurfaced, she had a smile on her face. “Feel a little better?”

“A little.” She admitted as I rolled my eyes. “I guess I should say sorry too…”

“For what?” I asked as I pulled myself up to sit next to her again.

“What I said…”

“No…don’t.” I said as she frowned. “You don’t need to apologize. What you said doesn’t even compare to what I did…so don’t even worry about it.”

“Technically, I am the one who told the whole team though.” She said with a guilty expression.

“Technically, you wouldn’t have known if Kelley hadn’t said something and Kelley wouldn’t have known if Alex hadn’t said something so…”

“So, you’re placing all the blame on Alex…?” she asked with confusion as I nodded my head a little.

“Kind of. I need to talk to her.” I admitted as she nodded her head. I looked up when someone cleared their throat. Kelley and Tobin were standing there as they gave us nervous expressions.

“Are we friends again?” Kelley asked as I looked to Christen.

“Yeah I guess so.” She said rolling her eyes as I smiled slightly. I knew we weren’t going to be where we were before, but I appreciated that she at least wasn’t glaring at me anymore.

“Awesome.” Kelley said climbing into the pool, so she was in front of Christen and I. Tobin rolled her eyes but follow Kelley anyway. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Alex” Christen responded as I gave her a look.

“Oof…she is so unhappy right now.” Kelley said as I stared at her with a frown.

“Is it because they aren’t talking?” Christen asked motioning to me.

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean yes and no?” I asked with confusion.

“She’s upset because you’re not talking to her, but then she was kind of mad because she thought you were flirting with Alexia Putellas yesterday. The whole jersey swap thing didn’t help either. You know how she gets.”

“She’s jealous….of Alexia…who I just really met yesterday…” I said as Kelley nodded.

“To be fair…you aren’t talking right now so I think she’s just afraid that you’re going to end things…so she has become paranoid over everything.” Tobin said as I sighed.

“Of course, she has…” I mumbled closing my eyes in frustration. “You know what is really stupid…I have been avoiding her because I don’t know how to say what I need to say.”

“That being…?”

“I’ve already forgiven her. I think I did the night it happened. I’ve made a lot of mistakes…clearly…it would be extremely hypocritical of me to hold this over her…I still feel hurt though and that’s the part that complicates everything.”

“You don’t want to get hurt again…but could you really imagine your life with anyone else? Being with anyone else? Or even Alex being different than the way she is…?” Kelley asked me.

“Alex is a lot of things…she’s gets jealous easily…she is stubborn…I think she really likes to argue about stupid stuff…she frustrates the hell out of me…”

“But…?” Christen gave me a look knowing there was no way that was the end of my thought.

“She’s the love of my life. She’s a sweetheart. She sees the world in the most amazing ways. She knows me better than anyone. Despite everything, I know my heart couldn’t be safer with her.”

“Y’all just need to get married already.” Kelley said with a giant smile as I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious. Like, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did get married soon. You’ve both waited a really long time and you were basically dating before just without the kissing and stuff.”

I rolled my eyes as I stood up and headed towards the side to dry off. I completed a couple more recovery activities before heading back to my room. I walked in and got in some lounging clothes and started getting my stuff together. We would have a travel day tomorrow, so I needed to make sure I was ready to leave. I looked over when the door opened and in walked Alex. She looked tired as I gave her a concerned look. I know she took some heavy falls during the game yesterday.

“Are you okay?” I asked as she looked at me. I could see the hesitancy on her face.

“No, I’m exhausted and my knee and back kind of hurt.”

“I’m sorry.” I said as she nodded her head.

“I should have thanked you yesterday for standing up for me with Torrecilla. I really appreciated it.” She said with a small smile.

“No one’s allowed to touch you.” I said seriously as she her smile widened just a little. “I’m serious. As long as I am around, no one is going to lay a hand on you.”

“I appreciate that.” She was quiet for a moment before she looked at me. “Are we going to talk about it?”

“We should.” I said as she nodded. I sat down on the bed as she came and sat next to me.

“I am really sorry.” She said after a moment. “I know it doesn’t make it better. I shouldn’t have said anything to anyone, but it really was an accident. It just…”

“Alex…I know. Kelley told me what happened. I’ve had a lot of time to think.” I said as she nodded. “I’m not happy with what happened. Obviously, I wish things had been different. I wish you hadn’t told anyone, but I am also beginning to realize that maybe it was better that everyone knew.”

“Wait…what?” she gave me a look of confusion as I gave her a soft smile.

“Everyone has been really supportive about it…it has sort put things in perspective and helped me realize what is really important. I’ve been looking for something for years and it took this all happening for me to realize that I couldn’t find it because I already had it…”

“What’s that?”

“A Family.” I said as she gave me a soft smile. “Don’t get me wrong. I am still really upset over it, but I forgave you already. I’ve realized that you frustrate me beyond belief more than anyone I have ever know…but I would rather do extremely fucking difficult with you than do easy with anyone else. Including Alexia Putellas.”

“I’m going to kill Kelley.” She said burying her face in her hands. “I really need to stop telling her things.”

“You think?” she gave me a pout as I smiled at her.

“Are we going to be okay?” she asked me after a moment.

I looked down trying to gather my thoughts. I was no doubt still a little mad over it, but I really didn’t feel like throwing my whole relationship out over it was worth it. Sebastian was right. I do play the victim a lot, but I am tired of doing that. I’m tired of running away when things get difficult because it might be a little hard to fight. If I had to pick a time to fight and a person to fight for, it’s Alex. It’s always going to be Alex.

“You know…I had a whole meltdown when I realized I loved you…”

“Really?”

“Yeah…because it freaked me out so bad. When I realized I loved you, I was a goner because I had this epiphany that I was never going to be truly happy unless I was with you. It sucked at the time because I didn’t know you loved me back, but I was fully ready to just live life like that…knowing I was never going to reach peak happiness because I didn’t have you. Since I actually got you, I’ve never wanted to let go. Not once. Even through this mess…I never once considered letting go. My love for you is that strong…so, yeah I think we are going to be okay.”

**To Be Continued…**


	12. On to France

Alex POV:

I woke up smiling to myself when I felt arms around my waist. (Y/N) was still sleeping as I stared at her. She always looked so peaceful when she slept. No one would ever know about the tornado of thoughts in her head. I know that I am extremely lucky in this situation considering people have broken up for less.

I know what I did was wrong, and I wish that I could take it back because she is literally the love of my life. I don’t know what I would have done if she had suggested ending things between us. The thought of losing her has become my worst nightmare. When she wasn’t talking to me, all I could think about was the possibility of her coming to me and saying that it was over.

I smiled slightly when she started moving a little. Her eyes opened a little as I gave her a soft smile. She smiled as I leaned in and kissed her forehead. She seemed to run her eyes over my face before leaning in and giving me a kiss. I smiled into it as I held her close to me. There was seriously nothing better than getting to kiss this beautiful human being.

“I hate travel days.” She said as I gave her an amused smile.

“Me too. I’d much rather stay in bed with you.” I said as she shook her head a little.

“You’re just trying to flatter me.” She said sitting up as I stared at her. She got out of bed stretching a little. She was wearing some shorts and a sweater, but the sweater rode up a little revealing her toned stomach. I bit my lip as she caught me staring. “Keep it in your pants Morgan.”

“I can’t help myself. You’re so damn attractive.” I said as she chuckled

“Now you know how I feel.” She said heading into the bathroom.

I laid there for another moment lost in my thoughts. I came incredibly close to losing her and even though she said we were okay…I couldn’t help but feel like we weren’t. Part of me feels like she let it go really easily, but on the other hand she said it was fine. I laid there for a few more minutes when she came out the bathroom. She climbed into bed and pulled me into her.

“What are you thinking about?”

“You.” I said as she smiled. She leaned and kissed my cheek as I frowned slightly.

“You know I am sorry right?”

“Of course, I know you’re sorry.” She said as I nodded my head. “Are you alright?”

“I just feel like…you let me off to easily.” I said standing up as she looked up at me with confusion.

“What?”

“I told one of your biggest secrets to someone and ended up with the whole team finding out. You should be pissed at me. You should hate me. You should…you should want to break up with me.” I said as her eyes widened. She immediately jumped off the bed and was standing right in front of me with a concerned gaze.

“I’m not breaking up with you. You made a mistake. It’s okay.” She said taking my face in her hands as I frowned. A thought occurred to me as I bit my lip.

“Are you letting it go because you forgive me or because you think if you don’t forgive me then Christen won’t forgive you?” She let go of me as I her eyes widened a little more. She studied my face for a moment before sighing.

“Me forgiving you had nothing to do with Christen. I don’t expect Christen to forgive me anytime soon. I did a really shitty thing to her.” She said as I crossed my arms at her. “I forgave you because you’re my everything. You are the first thought when I wake up and the last before I go to sleep. My day isn’t good unless I get to see you. Your voice is the best thing I have ever heard and when you say my name….it’s like heaven.”

“So, you’re really not mad?” I asked as she made a face.

“I am disappointed, but I am not mad. I feel better now that people know, but it was still something I should have got to talk about. Not you. So, will I still be a little irritated? Yes. Does it mean I love you any less? No.” 

“I really am sorry.” I said as she nodded her head. My eyes watered a little as she pulled me in for a hug. “I know I’ve said it a million times, but I am.”

“I know you are.” She said softly as I buried my face into her shoulder. I was clinging to her as she rubbed my back. “I love you so much. Nothing could ever make me break up with you. I’m in this for the long haul my love.”

“I love you too.” I mumbled as she continued rubbing small circles on my back.

After my mini breakdown, we continued getting ready for the day. We made sure all our stuff was ready to go as we headed out of the room and down to the lobby. I noticed some of the girls standing around laughing as we approached them.

“What’s up?” Pinoe asked looking between us two. She raised her eyebrow as (Y/N) rolled her eyes wrapping an arm around me. Pinoe grinned as she clapped her hands together.

“I am so happy to see you two back together again!” she said as I rolled my eyes leaning into my girlfriend.

“We never broke up.” I said as she gave me a weird look.

“I think we all held our breath a little there for a second.” Ash said giving me a small smile. “I mean…it wasn’t looking good for any of you.”

“Fuck off.” (Y/N) mumbled as I nodded my head. “You think I am going to wait two whole years to date her and then dump her because she pissed me off one time?”

“I mean…you were pretty pissed to be fair.” Sonnett said as everyone nodded.

“I had no doubts.” Allie said though everyone gave her a look which told me that wasn’t true. “Okay I had some doubts.”

“Well, we didn’t break up so…” I said as she nodded her head. We made our way out of the hotel. They had already grabbed our suitcases as we made our way onto the bus. I sat down as (Y/N) took the seat next to me. Allie scowled at us before going and finding a seat next to Kelley. They were going to have us take train before deciding it was better if we just traveled on the bus. It was only an hour and a half drive so…

“I might fall asleep on you.” She said looking at me as I smiled at her.

“I am happy to be your pillow.” I said as she grinned at me.

“How are you feeling though? Especially over yesterday…” she sighed looking down for a moment. I knew it was bugging her that I kept asking, but I didn’t want her to hold all that stuff inside.

“I feel…I don’t know. I’m happy that Christen and I talked and that you and I talked, but I don’t know…everything feels very delicate right now. Not just between us, but the whole team. It feels like the air has shifted somehow.”

“Sifted in what way…”

“I can’t place it. Like, before we all had who we were close with and now it feels like that has shifted.”

“To be fair, everyone has learned a whole lot about you. I don’t think it’s necessarily that the air has shifted, but more your position on the team has. You were you know closed off and not very responsive to personal talks…now people know this big secret about you so…they feel closer to you.”

“Yeah I guess…I am still mad about the Spain game. I played like shit.”

“We all did.” I commented as she nodded her head. “It was hard to focus on anything let alone a game.”

“I know. A bad game for that to happen though.” I nodded my head as she closed her eyes for a moment. I could see she was still tired as she ran her hand over her face.

“We just have to move on to the next one.” I said as she nodded her head. “Lay down. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

She nodded her head as she laid her head down on my shoulder. She was fast asleep as I gave her a small smile. I scrolled on my phone as she slept. I saw a video that was being retweeted of Pinoe. I clicked it and recognized it being at one of the photoshoots we did a few months ago. Pinoe was talking to some journalist who asked her about going to the white house to which she promptly replied, ‘she wasn’t going to the fucking white house’. This was no doubt going to get some attention especially when you consider how many eyes are on us, and how many people are just looking to pick with us.

**(Y/N) POV Switch**

“Babe.” I groaned slightly as Alex shook me to try to wake me up. “Wake up.”

“I’m up.” I whined as she smiled at me slightly.

“We are almost here.”

I looked out the window at all the stuff we were passing trying to keep myself awake. I felt exhausted most likely from all the stuff that I did the last few days. This tournament has also felt really long and we don’t really have many days in between. I stretched my neck a little as I yawned.

“I’m so tired.” I whined again earning an eye roll from Alex. She shook her head as I frowned at her. “Love me…”

“I do love you.” She defended as I pouted at her. She leaned forward and pecked my lips a couple times as I leaned my head against the headrest. I stared at her as she looked down at her phone.

“What?”

“You’re just so beautiful. It blows my mind.” I said as she smiled at me. We had just pulled into where our hotel was, so we were waiting to get off the bus.

“So sweet.” She said kissing me again. I grinned as I connected our lips again in a kiss.

“You guys are disgusting.” I looked up at Lindsay who grinned down at me. I shook my head as we stood up and started walking off the bus.

Once we got to our room, the first thing I did was flop down on the bed and buried my head into a pillow. I cuddled the pillow as I started to drift again.

“So lazy.” Alex said as she came over and climbed into the bed. She cuddled into me as I groaned a little.

“I’m emotionally drained. There is a difference.” I said as she sent me an apologetic smile. “Let’s take a nap.”

“Okay but a small one…” she said as I drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the day was getting ourselves adjusted and ready for training the next day. Over the next couple days, we trained, and I could honestly say things were getting better and better. We were back on track in terms of being in sync with each other the way we were before everything happened. My relationship with Alex had mostly gone back to normal which was definitely a plus because it was weird not being on good terms with her. Christen and I had actually spent a little bit of time together which was awesome. The forward seemed a little less mad at me.

“Can I just say….what a relief it is that the current drama has nothing to do with me…” I said as everyone looked at me with varying degrees of amusement.

“Lucky you.” Pinoe said as I grinned. Apparently, Pinoe saying she wasn’t going to the fucking white house had everyone in America shook. That orange bastard himself had come for her on social media, but he came for the wrong person.

“We have to win now….I mean we had to win before, but like we _have_ to win now.” Kelley said as I nodded my head. I stretched out a little more taking a glance over at Alex who was sitting on the ground stretching. I winked at her causing the older girl to roll her eyes at me.

I looked around and noticed that some of the girls were filming something probably for Instagram as I watched them come over. Sonnett came over and got extremely close shoving the camera in my face as I made a face and pushed her away.

“I have a question…can you help us find a snack?” she asked as I thought for a moment before nodding.

“Yes…found one.” I said point to where Alex was sat. She rolled her eyes as Mal and I let out a laugh.

“Actually, I take that back she’s not a snack….she’s a whole damn meal.” I said as they laughed, and Alex shook her head.

“You can’t post that.” Alex said after a moment as Sonnett pouted at her. “I’m serious.”

“Why not? It was hilarious.” I grinned when Alex scowled at her getting her to be quiet immediately.

“Well you ruined it…” Sonnett said with a pout as she saved the video but didn’t post it.

I shrugged as we got to training. The France game was in a few days and I mean this really was a final in itself. People have been predicting this since the draws were first made way back when. How cruel it is that the best team in the world ends up in the same side of the bracket as the home team…I know everyone was already predicting that we are going to lose. We lost to them in January, but that really means nothing. That was a friendly. This is the Quarterfinal of the World Cup. The stakes are different, and how badly we want to win is different.

I know that I needed to be on my A-game because France would no doubt be on their A-game. I can’t play like I did during the Spain game. I needed to be focused which is why it was so important for everything to stay good for me. No drama. Smooth sailing from here on out. I had jokingly told Alex that any problems we might have need to wait until the end of the WC because I didn’t want to have my game thrown off. I don’t think she found it very funny at all.

“Good practice.” Pinoe said as we walked off the field together. We started tactics and strategy for a moment before heading into the locker room to get cleaned up. “How are things?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your mind…you seem to play better when you have a clear head so…how are things…”

“It’s going good. I can’t complain which is a nice change from recent proceedings. Everything feels like it’s almost back to normal.”

“That’s good. I need you to be on your best. How you play definitely impacts the rest of us.”

“Thanks…no pressure at all.” I joked as she shook her head with a smile.

“I’m just saying you seem to have that weird effect on the team. When you play bad, we all play bad. When you play well, well you get the point.”

“I guess we will find out, now won’t we?” She grinned at me as I shook my head.

Before I knew it, it was gameday. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous because it was in the back of my head how important this game really was. I didn’t want to mess it up. I woke up next to Alex as I watched her sleep for a few minutes. She was so peaceful. She made my heart feel calm and content. I knew that if I had any chance of playing well it would be because she was right there keeping me calm.

“Morning.” I said softly when her eyes fluttered open. She had a small smile on her face. She gave me a kiss before trying to snuggle into me more. “We got to get up.”

“I know.” She said though it came out more like a whine. I laid there for a few moments just running my fingers through her hair as she traced patterns on the exposed skin on my stomach. “Can I tell you something?”

“Hmmm?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen when the world cup ends.” She said softly though I could hear a little bit of what sounded like fear in her voice.

“What do you mean?” I asked as she looked up at me a little.

“I’ve grown so used to you being by my side at all time…I don’t know what I am going to do when I have to go back to Orlando, and you have to go back to Utah.”

“Well, I mean…we’ve done it before.” I said as she nodded but then frowned.

“We weren’t dating before. We hadn’t slept in the same bed every day for like a month or two. I don’t even want to sleep away from you for one night let alone.”

“We will have to figure it out when we get there. We will make it work though. I have no doubt about that. You’re stuck with me Ms. Morgan.” I said as the forward smiled at me.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way” she said as she gave me a kiss. I smiled before we both stood to get ready for the day. We went through our morning rituals and had our breakfast and socialized with the team before heading off to the stadium.

I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling the nerves just a little. I could tell some people were feeling it more than others judged off of how quiet everyone was being. Becky scolded me a little when I said I was a little nervous because in her words, ‘this is just another game’. I definitely see her point of view, but also, she’s full of shit.

“Ow!” I said as Becky slapped my arm. “What was that for?”

“I just felt like you deserved it. You were thinking something.” She said as I stared at her with wide eyes. I swear this bitch is a psychic or mind reader or some shit.

We got through warm-ups pre-game stuff pretty fast and the next thing I knew it was time to walk out. We got through the anthems to which I stood with my arms behind my back and didn’t sing in solidarity with Pinoe. Then, we did a quick prayer circle before finding our spots on the field.

Pinoe came up to me really quickly and placed her hand over my ear to hide what she was saying from the cameras.

“I know it goes without saying, but I need the smug asshole version of you that plays without fear. You’re best when you’re being a dick.” She winked at me as she took a step back.

“Noted.” I said as she ran and got into position. I shook my head, but I knew she was right. This wasn’t the game to be nice in.

The game started and both teams quickly got going. JJ made a shot on goal, but it was easily saved by Bouhaddi. It continued for another few minutes when Bathy took down Alex outside the box. I had to bite back the anger that was swelling inside me. It was the name of the game that she would be fouled more, but it didn’t mean that I liked it. It really pissed me off actually. I smiled to myself a little when I heard the boos of the crowd while we were waiting for Pinoe to take her freekick. We were right on par with being the enemies of this world cup. I could have screamed with excitement as I watch the ball fly in the back of the net. I ran and celebrated with my teammates as we went up one nil over the home team.

The game continued on with both teams trying to edge each other. I felt my self be filled with worry though in the 29th minute when Alex went down. I could tell something was wrong as I went and kneeled in front of her. The ref was standing off to the side waiting to see if Alex needed assistance as I stared at my girlfriend.

“Are you okay?” I asked as she had somewhat of a dazed look on her face. She nodded her head as she looked down. I turned and glared at the French players who started arguing with the ref. I went to stand to argue with them when I felt Alex grip my arm. I looked at her resting my hands on her shoulders as she fell back a little into a sitting position.

“I just need a minute. I hit the ball wrong.” She said as I nodded. The medical staff came over and checked her out. I took some water from them as I hovered over her. I didn’t really want to leave her side, because well…she’s my girlfriend and I worry. She stood up to walk off, but my worry hadn’t lessened at all due to the still somewhat dazed look on her face. I could see something that almost looked like worry on her face. It didn’t make me feel any better.

The next somewhat amusing moment came in the 37th minute when Alex fouled Renard. I watched as my girlfriend started arguing with the ref and saying that she didn’t touch her even though we all heard Renard yell out in pain and crumble onto the ground. I mean….she touched her. Let’s just establish.

“She’s faking it.” Alex said passionately looking at the ref. I bit back a slight chuckle as I tried to get the girls attention.

“Alex.” I said as the forward turned towards me. I shook my head a little getting a look from the forward who ultimately abandoned her argument.

“I didn’t touch her.” She said walking past me as I smiled and turned towards the forward who had just walked past me. We really don’t talk enough about how petty Alex actually is on the field. We continued on and I couldn’t help but let out a little ‘oof’ when Majri turned and ran right into Kelley who immediately tried to defend herself to the ref.

Halftime came not long after that as we headed into the locker room. I winced slightly stretching my body as I could feel the small aches. I took a sip of water as I listened to everything being said. I knew what needed to be done, so I wasn’t all that interested in what they had to say. I turned my attention towards Alex who looked significantly better than she had before. Once they were done talking, I stood and walked over to the forward. She gave me a small smile as I rested my hand on her head.

“You good?” I asked as she gave me a small smile.

“I’m alright.” She said letting out a little breath. “Usual aches from games…nothing to worry about.”

I nodded as Kelley came over with Pinoe. They both looked a little tired but started talking about the game.

“I feel like it’s opposite day.” I commented getting looks from everyone.

“What do you mean?”

“Well…you’re on a card so you have been playing it really cool…and you just said fuck it…” I said looking between Kelley and Alex. “It’s like you switched personalities.”

“I didn’t touch her.” Alex whined as she got looks from all three of us.

“Alex…” Kelley said with an amused smile.

“Come on…you touched her.” Pinoe said as we turned to head out of the room.

“I did not.” The forward whined as I chuckled.

“I believe you.” I said as she pouted at me.

“No, you don’t….”

“I don’t because I saw you clip her…it’s okay babe…” I said throwing an arm around the forward who just rolled her eyes.

We got back out on the field as we retook our positions. Alex and I were doing the kickoff as I waited for the ref to signal that we could go.

“Go get em baby.” I said to Alex who winked at me before I kicked the ball with her taking off in the other direction. The second half felt pretty uneventful as both teams continued trying to take advantage. It was the 50th minute when I went for the ball at the same time as Bathy. She shoved me a little causing me to hit the ground. I groaned for a second before standing up and bumping shoulders with her. She shoved me again as I immediately turned to get into her face.

“Watch it.” She said as I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Don’t do something you’ll regret.” I said as she glared at me.

“Back off.”

“I’m kind of starting to want you to make me.” I said glaring right back at her. The ref blew her whistle and came over telling us to take a step back. Neither of us moved until I felt a soft touch on my arm. I turned to see Alex as I finally stepped back.

“Don’t lose your head.” She said as I nodded at her. The game continued until the 62nd minute when I saw my number go up. I groaned but ran off to the sideline making way for Lindsay. I got pats on the back and a small disapproving look form Jill. No doubt my little altercation with Bathy was going to come back to bite me. I sat next to Christen as we continued watching the game. I jumped up with the rest of the team a few minutes later when Pinoe scored.

“What a goal.” I said as Christen gave me an amused smile. We continued talking about the game for a moment before she had to get up to do warm-ups. I moved to sit with Mal and all them as I talked with them about the game. I let out a groan when Renard scored for France. I so did not have the patience for them to make a comeback. We continued watching and all huddled together right before the whistle was to be blown.

“Come on just blow the fucking whistle.” Ash said as I chuckled. I watched Tobin and Alex argue with the French players and ref about the set piece. I glanced around and could already see the French players bench looking extremely emotional. I did feel a little bad about that. When the whistle went, we all ran onto the field. I ran straight to Alex who jumped in the air wrapping her legs around my waist and arms around my neck. Some of the girls collided into us as I placed her on the ground.

“To the Semis” she yelled as I grinned. I kept my arm firmly around her waist as we were joined for a group hug by some of the other girls. As we dispersed and started walking, I turned towards Christen.

“To the semis.” I said as she smiled and nodded at me. I hugged her as she laughed at my excitement.

I made my way around the field talking and shaking the hands of the French players before making my way towards the tunnel. I was actually pulled for media this time.

“(Y/N), if I can say congratulations first…” I nodded my head with a smile. “You had quite the encounter with Bathy and it’s not the first time this tournament that you have had an altercation with an opposing player…what can you say about that?”

“I think that during these games because there is so much at stake. Tempers flair and we get a little out of control, but I have no ill feelings towards anyone of these players. It’s an honor to get to play them in this tournament.”

I continued answering questions before making my way to the locker room. I was immediately pulled aside by Jill and Tony who gave me disapproving looks.

“You need to control your temper.”

“I was pushed first.” I defended getting looks. I knew that it technically wasn’t an excuse, but it was the one I was giving.

“Just try to keep it in check. I don’t need you getting any kind of suspension.”

I nodded my head as I went into the room and celebrated with my teammates a little. I grinned when Alex pulled me aside. She took my face in her hands and kissed me. I smiled as I reciprocated.

“You did good today.” She said as I rolled my eyes. I kissed her again before letting go of her.

“So did you.” I said as she smiled at me. It wasn’t long after that when we finally departed from the stadium. I was exhausted and wanted to do nothing more than go take a nap with Alex. I know some of the girls wanted to get dinner though.

Once we got back to the hotel, we got changed into some casual clothes before making our way to dinner. For the most part, dinner was chill. We all talked about the game and the other stuff going on. Pinoe expressed her relief at having won given all the pressure that she was under during the game. Mostly an uneventful dinner.

The next two days was for recovery and travel. We would be playing England in the semifinals which was no doubt going to be a huge game. They have been absolutely terrific this whole tournament and I know they are going to be a huge challenge for us. The game also happened to be on the birthday of my love. I know Alex was super excited about not only getting to play but getting to play on her birthday. I had a little gift for her that I have had for a while. I really couldn’t wait to give it to her.

Currently though, we are lying in bed together. We were watching Netflix just trying to unwind a little. She was dozing on my shoulder slightly which was fine. I was hungry though and wanted a snack. They had a little snack area in the hotel that had some snacks down in the lobby, so I was going to go get some.

“Hey…” I said softly as the forward lifted her head to look at me. She had a tired expression as I spoke. “I am going to get a snack. Do you want anything?”

She shook her head as I kissed her cheek. I stood as she reached for my hand. I looked back at her as she pouted at me.

“Actually…” I rolled my eyes with a small smile as the forward gave me a puppy dog look. “Can you get me some cookies if they have some?”

“You’re actually going to eat a regular cookie instead of your vegan cookies?” I asked as she pouted at me again.

“Allie ate them all.” She said as I frowned. I thought Allie hated them. I shrugged before leaning down and giving her a kiss.

“Of course I can.” I said as she smiled at me.

“I love you.” She said as I smiled to myself.

“I love you too.”

I headed down to the lobby and went into the little snack area they had. I picked up some cookies for her and grabbed myself some fruit snacks. I turned and paid for it at the front desk before moving to walk back towards the elevators.

I was walking looking at the ingredients for the cookies when I bumped into someone. I looked up to apologize when I felt my entire body freeze. The blood really felt like it was draining from me as my stomach dropped. I felt paralyzed as I stared at the man in front of me. I have only met him on a few occasions, but I would be an idiot to not know who he is.

“Sorry about that.” He said politely as I swallowed hard. Why was he here? I had so many questions running through my head as he gave me an odd look.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t even worry.” I said trying to figure out how to get away from here as fast as I could.

“Hey…you’re (Y/N) right?” he said with a smile. “You have had a great tournament so far…I mean really you’ve been fantastic”

“Thanks.” I said as he held out his hand to me. I shook it knowing that technically we have never been formally introduced though I knew all about him. Though, I doubt he knew anything about me.

“I’m-” I cut him off due to my lack of patience at the situation.

“I know who you are.” I said as he gave me an awkward look. We both knew that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. “Nice to finally meet you Servando.”

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Happy Birthday Alex

Alex POV:

I woke up with a smile as I cuddled further into (Y/N). She is probably the best person cuddle with. I watched her sleep for a moment as I thought about how perfect the last couple days have been. It feels like it did back when we first got together. Nothing but bliss. The guilt of what I did is starting finally go away, so it makes being with (Y/N) a whole lot easier.

“Morning.” She mumbled as she moved a little to adjust her position. She pulled me a little, so I was more on top of her as she started rubbing circles on my back. I rested my head on her chest listening to her heartbeat.

“Morning.” I said as I moved my head to look up at her.

“Sleep well?”

“Yeah, you’re a really good pillow.” I said as she chuckled

“It’s all I am good for.” She joked as I smiled. “I knew that was the only reason you were with me.”

“Yeah as long as you stay comfortable to sleep on…is as long as I’ll stay with you.”

“Okay I’ll keep that in mind.” She said leaning down to give me a kiss. “I don’t want to train today.”

“Me neither. We want to win though so we need to train.” I said as she scoffed.

“How dumb is that…”

“Not dumb at all.” I said as she shook her head.

“I have to actually put effort in to win the world cup.” She said sarcastically as I grinned at her.

She got a really serious look on her face as I frowned at her. I don’t know why she looked so serious all of a sudden.

“I really love you.” She said as I frowned. I was used to her being serious, but usually it was an angry serious…this looked more like a sad serious.

“I love you too.” I said giving her a concerned look. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wanted you to know that.” She said putting a smile on her face though I could still see some sadness on her face.

“Of course, I know that…” I said still feeling concern. “I love you so much.”

“I know. I love you too.”

We laid there for another few moments before it was time for us to get up and ready for training. Things have been perfect the last few days, but something was off today. She seemed off today. I observed her movements and she seemed to pretty stuck in her head which had me concerned.

We made our way down to breakfast where she seemed to come out a little as we came into the presence of everyone else. The conversations were mostly about what was going on outside of the team and what the next game was going to look like. Pinoe had expressed some concern in her leg which immediately had the rest of us concerned.

After breakfast we made our way to training, that’s where (Y/N) always shined. She was best when she got to train or play. So, it was nice to see her in her own element. We had gone through most of training with us being in a cool off period at the end.

“So, how many kids are you up to now?” Ash asked (Y/N) who frowned at her.

“What are you talking about?” she asked with confusion evident on her face.

“All your adopted kids.” She said as (Y/N) eyes widened and she immediately started shaking her head.

“You have adopted kids?” I asked as she frowned at me and shook her head

“I don’t have any kids.”

“I counted like four kids for you.” Pinoe said stretching out a little.

“Who?”

“Tierna, Mal, Sonnett, and Rose.” I grinned when (Y/N) dropped and she started glaring.

“Actually, I think the only kid you could say is Tierna.” Becky said as (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

“No, the others look up to her just as much. Also, its five because you have to include Sam.” Kelley said as I laughed at the look on her face.

“No, they are not my kids.” My girlfriend said with irritation.

“You don’t want kids?” Christen asked to which I immediately looked over and saw her face drop again.

“I want kids. Not them though.” She said as we continued cooling off.

“Oh Jesus.” Ash mumbled as we all looked over to see Sonnett trying to climb on the back of Sam’s shoulders with Rose and Mal both filming. Tierna was off to the side shaking her head a little.

“No! Hey! Stop that…you’re going to hurt yourself.” (Y/N) yelled walking towards them.

“It was Sonnett’s idea.” Mal said as all of them pointed at Sonnett who groaned.

“You guys are a bunch of fucking tattletales.” Sonnett groaned.

“Watch your mouth.” (Y/N) said as she finally got to them and started scolding them about potentially hurting themselves.

“Definitely her kids.” Christen said as we all laughed.

Once practice was over, we made our way back to the hotel. (Y/N) was in the shower when my phone started ringing. I noticed it was my sister calling.

“Hey Jeri.”

“Hey. Where are you right now?” she asked as I furrowed my eyebrows. She sounded a little worried.

“I am in my hotel room.” I replied as she sighed.

“Okay. I need to tell you something, but you can’t freak out.”

“What?” I asked feeling a little concern start to build up

“Servando is here.” I froze as she started explaining that they had seem him around the hotel that we were all at. Of all the things I was expecting, that wasn’t it. “Alex? Alex! Are you still there?”

“I’m here. Are you sure?”

“Yes. You were with the guy for ten years; I think I can recognize him.”

“Have you talked to him?”

“No, mom and I saw him and then immediately left to call you.”

“What is he doing here?”

“I don’t know. I assume here to see you.” She said as I frowned.

“I don’t want to see him. Jesus, I am finally happy, and he has to come back around.” I said in frustration

“Are you going to talk to him?” she asked as I shook my head a little.

“I don’t know. Should I?” I asked as she sighed on the phone.

“That’s up to you lex...” she said as I frowned. I knew (Y/N) would be out of the shower soon so I needed to get off this phone call.

“I got to go. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay. Just wanted to give you the heads up about him.”

“Yeah I really appreciate it.” I said as we said our goodbyes.

I sighed as I threw my phone on to the bed. If Servando is here, he is most likely here for me and I don’t know how to feel about that. Throughout our entire relationship, that’s all I ever wanted was for him to show up and be there for me. Now it feels upsetting to think he is somewhere in the same hotel as me. I love (Y/N) more than anything. She is the person I want to be with for my future. I see it all, but I also used to see that same future with Servando. I used to think that Servando was going to be the love of my life for the rest of my life.

“You okay?” I looked up at (Y/N) who was giving me a small smile.

“Yeah I am good.” I said as she nodded her head.

“So, I was thinking…instead of going out with the team tonight if you would let me take you to dinner.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” I asked as she smiled at me

“I am asking you on a date.” I smiled and nodded my head at her as she grinned. “Wonderful.”

We left the room to go spend some time with our other teammates before getting ready for our date. Once we left the hotel, we did our best to be discreet though I knew it was only a matter of time before someone recognized us. I was enjoying the time I was getting alone with (Y/N) right now though. Most of the dinner was going really well…we hadn’t been recognized yet and we were about to pay the check so…successful date if I do say so myself.

“So, are you more excited for your birthday or getting to play England?”

“Is it bad that I am more excited to play?”

“Nope. Not at all. If we beat them and go to the final, then I get to play on my birthday.” She said as I nodded.

“So, you get it…” I said as she nodded and grinned at me. “Got to beat England first though.”

“Yeah. We will. I have faith in us.” She said as I smiled. She stared at me for a moment before getting a serious look on her face. “What’s on your mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“Somethings on your mind…you seem a little distracted.” She said as I sighed. I should have known that she would know something was up immediately. No one could read me better than her.

“I just got some…weird news today.”

“You want to talk about it?” she asked with a look of concern.

“Servando is here in France. He hasn’t contacted me at all. Jeri called me and said that her and my mom had seen him around the Hotel, and I don’t know…it’s weird because I know he’s probably here for me and it’s just very weird...” I said as she nodded her head. She didn’t seem very surprised to hear that he was here. “You don’t seem surprised…”

“I ran into him last night.” She said as my jaw dropped. I felt a little anger or maybe it was irritation crawl up over me.

“You ran into him?” I asked as she gave me a small look. She was paying the bill as I focused in on her.

“Yes, I ran in to him.” She said with a small frown.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked as she frowned at me

“I don’t know. I was really kind of taken aback when I saw him.” She said getting a little defensive.

“What did he say to you?” I asked as her frown deepened.

“Why does it matter?”

“Well, does he know that we are together?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She replied as I let out a huff.

“Does…he…know?” I asked more sternly as she glared.

“Is that all you care about? Are you worried or something?” she asked as I scowled. I knew what she was implying, and it only pissed me off.

“I don’t care if he knows.” I said as she rolled her eyes.

“Clearly.” She said as she stood up to walk out. I stood with her to follow just as we were recognized. I internally groaned as I realized that we would have to put smiles on our face despite actually being angry.

Once we were done interacting with people, we headed out. The travel back to the hotel was quiet as we made our way to our room. She hadn’t said a word to me as I got lost in my thoughts. I didn’t know why the fact that she hadn’t said anything was so irritating. I didn’t know why she was so mad at me either.

“Are we really not going to talk about this?” I asked as she shook her head a little.

“I don’t want to fight. I told you if you have any problems…I don’t want to hear it until the World Cup is over.”

“Yeah, because not dealing with our issues has worked out so well in the past.” I said as she immediately turned towards me with a furious expression. I might have hit a soft spot.

“Fuck you.” She said as I winced. “I didn’t tell you about that jackass being here because quite frankly I didn’t want to see your reaction.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked with a frustrated look.

“Do you really think it made me feel good to run into my girlfriends ex-husband?” she asked as I frowned. She had a point. That could not have been great. “Also, I don’t want to hear this bullshit about not dealing with my problems. I am well aware of the mistakes I have made in the past. I don’t need you bringing it up at your own convenience.”

“This doesn’t need to be a big deal. I just wanted to know why you didn’t tell me.”

“Of course, it’s a big fucking deal Alex!” she said throwing her arms in the air with a frustrated expression. “He’s your ex-husband. He’s here in France. Probably for you.”

“It doesn’t if we don’t let it be…” I said softly taking a step towards her. She looked down before looking up at me with an exhausted expression.

“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t want to see him?” she asked as I opened my mouth to respond, but then stayed quiet. That was just it, wasn’t it? I wanted to know specifically why he was here. Which means I did want to see him.

“Right. That’s what I thought.” She said as I took her face in my hands.

“I love you.” I said as she looked down again before closing her eyes. “I only want you.”

“You can’t even say that you don’t want to see him.”

“I want to know why he is here.” I said as she sighed

“It doesn’t matter why...” She said as I frowned and shook my head.

“It does, but I only love you. You are my whole world.” I said as she licked her lips before focusing in on me.

I pulled her closer into a kiss. She responded grabbing onto my waist. I tried to put all my emotions into the kiss, because I needed her to know that she was the love of my life. I wanted her and only her. That was never going to change.

“Please don’t meet with him…” she said softly. Her eyes were closed as I frowned at her. “If you’ve ever loved me at all, then you won’t go…”

“(Y/N)…” I said as she pulled away from me.

“Alex…” I stared at her trying to find it in me to say no. “Please…”

“Fine.”

“Promise me…” she said as I bit my lip.

“I promise.”

She gave me a look of uncertainty as she stepped towards me pulling me in for a hug. I let her hold me as I rested my head on her shoulder. I know she is just worried about our relationship, but I was still dying to know why he was here. Also, what he said to (Y/N)…I still wanted to know that, but I wasn’t going to get an answer from her.

“I love you” she mumbled as I nodded my head a little.

“I know. I love you too.” I said as I pulled away slightly and gave her a kiss.

“Do you want to watch Netflix, or we can go hang out with everyone…” she said albeit a little awkwardly.

“We can watch Netflix if you want.” I said as she smiled at me. She nodded as we then got comfortable watching some random show. I got a little lost in my thoughts over everything. On one hand, I completely understand where is coming from because if it was reversed…I’d probably kill a bitch. On the other hand, the curiosity is killing me.

It wasn’t long after that she started drifting to sleep. I smiled at how cute she was. I didn’t want to risk my relationship with her. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost her. Knowing why Servando is here….it’s not worth losing (Y/N). He hasn’t even reached out and maybe we shouldn’t assume that he is going too.

I shut off the computer we were using and placed it on the ground before making sure our alarms were set. I climbed into bed snuggling into her as she wrapped an arm around me. At this moment, there was truly nowhere I wanted to be than right here.

Once morning came, I let a smile cross my face as kisses were being placed on my face. I started laughing as (Y/N) continued placing kisses on my face.

“Happy.” Kiss. “Birthday.” Kiss. “You.” Kiss. “Beautiful.” Kiss. “Human.” Kiss. “Being” Kiss.

“Morning.” I said as she grinned down at me. “What a wonderful way to wake up.”

“Nothing but the best for my girlfriend.” She said as I grinned at her. She gave me another kiss as I held onto her to keep her in place. I wrapped my legs around her waist to make sure she couldn’t move as I deepened the kiss. Her hand went to my upper thigh as things started getting more heated. She then started placing kisses on my neck as I tried to hold back the moan that was threatening to slip out.

We both jumped slightly when the alarm that I had set the night before went off. I groaned as she chuckled a little. She reached over and turned it off as she hovered over me again. I licked my lips as I leaned up to give her a kiss. She leaned back and gave me an amused smile.

“As much as I would love to give you some birthday sex…” I bit my lip trying to give her the most seductive look I could. “mmm…don’t do that…”

I pulled her towards me and started pressing kisses to her neck as she groaned slightly. Knowing she was slightly distracted; I used all my strength to flip us over. I was on top of her as she gave me a surprised look. I had her arms pinned above her head as I intertwined our fingers. I leaned down to give her a kiss as she leaned up to meet my lips.

We continued kissing for a few more minutes before she basically threw me off of her. I landed on the bed with a little bounce as she stood up. She placed her hands on her hips as she stared at the ceiling taking deep breaths. I sat up so I was on my knees as I gave her an amused smile.

“Stop doing that.” She said as I grinned at her. I reached for her arm as she pulled away. “No, you stay on that side of the room,”

I pouted at her as she shook her head. I grinned when she walked towards the bathroom muttering about ‘keeping it in your pants’. I sat back on the bed reaching for my bed as I answered all my birthday texts and retweeted some of the birthday messages I was getting. I made a quick gameday post as I waited for (Y/N) to come out the bathroom.

“So, do you want your gift now or later?” I thought for a moment as I stared at her.

“Later.” I said as she gave me a surprised look.

“If we lose, then I have something to look forward to.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Fair enough.” She said as we both started getting ready for the day. We made our way to breakfast with the team with everyone telling me Happy Birthday. The day was moving quickly as we went through our team meeting. We had found out that Pinoe wasn’t going to play because of her injury and that Christen would be starting instead. Its an equal trade. So, I wasn’t really worried.

The ride over to the stadium was mainly everyone focused on the game. I was excited to get to play. I was really hoping to score today due to it being my birthday.

Once we got to the stadium, we got our stuff settled and went out to do our warm-ups. Some of the journalists on the sides were already buzzing upon seeing Pinoe not dressed for warm-ups. That was definitely going to be something talked about after the game. If we lost, it would be because Pinoe was on the bench. If we won, it would be because of Jill’s brilliance. So, we lost either way.

The game quickly started as both teams tried to attack. In the 4th minute, (Y/N) got the ball and nutmegged one of the English players in the box. I was open, but she elected to take the shot on her own. It was saved before Christen got it and played it back in the box. It eventually fell to me as I blasted it over the goal. Not even a minute later I was going for the ball before my feet were taken out from under me. I immediately heard (Y/N) protest as the ref blew the whistle. I laid there for a moment before moving to get up. She helped me up as I shook my head at her. She rolled her eyes before she turned and started walking towards the box for the free kick. I really didn’t need her losing her head.

I groaned a little when the ball went just over my head after Christen’s free kick. The game continued after that with both teams still trying to find a goal. I watched as Tobin ran upfield passing the ball to (Y/N) who let it go for Kelley who crossed it. It flew right over everyone right to Christen who got her head on it. I felt my heart explode as the ball flew into the back of the net. I celebrated with them as we all gave her hugs. I can only imagine what this goal means to her. As we were walking back to midfield, I smiled when (Y/N) turned around real quick and picked Christen up in a hug.

“I’m so proud.” She said as Christen grinned at her.

“Thank you.” Christen replied as we got back to midfield

The game then was back on with England trying to find an equalizer. I couldn’t help put feel a little amusement when one of (Y/N)’s shots went over the goal.

“Fuck.” She said turning to get back into position. I shot her a little smile as she rolled her eyes.

I felt frustration take over a little when Ellen White scored in the 19th minute. I could see the frustration on everyone’s face as we watched the English players celebrate.

“It’s okay.” (Y/N) said as she motioned for us all to calm down. “We aren’t out yet.”

We continued playing when in the 24th minute, I was going for the ball at the same time as Lucy Bronze who basically body checked me. I felt to the ground in pain as they continued playing. It was a few moments before they stopped the play. I laid on my back trying to control my breathing as (Y/N) approached. She had a concerned look on her face as she bent down to look at me.

“How are you doing baby?” she asked me softly as I stared at her for a moment. I closed my eyes before trying to sit up.

“I’m fine.” I said as she offered me a hand and pulled me up on my feet. I quickly got back to playing though I’d be lying if I said my head wasn’t hurting a little.

In the 31st minute, Abby sent a great ball to Christen who was able to bring it down with her chest. She passed it to Lindsay who then crossed the ball into the box to me. I was able to get my head on it and immediately had a heart attack as the ball went into the back of the net. I ran off to the sidelines and did the tea celebration that I had joked about doing in the locker room.

(Y/N) was the first to get to me as she picked me up and spun me around. The others collided with us in the hug as we celebrated the goal. A goal for my birthday? Check.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she said as I grinned. “Happy Fucking Birthday I guess.”

I smiled at her as we celebrated for another moment before heading back to continue the game. In the 39th minute, Bright basically smacked me in the face causing me to go down. I was getting really tired of these fouls. (Y/N) was then at my side again as she and Tobin argued for a card for Bright. The ref ultimately agreed with them as she gave a yellow card.

The rest of the half went by uneventful really…I made my way into the locker room using a towel to wipe away some sweat as I took a breath. I was definitely going to be feeling these aches tomorrow. I let out a little yelp when (Y/N) picked me up spinning me around.

“A goal for your birthday. Are you serious?” she said as I grinned. Everyone smiled at me as we let ourselves feel a little joy for a second. She the turned towards Christen. “And you! A headed! Is today real?”

We all laughed and enjoyed the moment as we then switched back to game mode. We continued talking tactics talked about potentially adjusting our strategy before heading back out for the second half. The second half started and continued uneventful. Lindsay got carded at one point and JJ went down in the 50th minute. (Y/N) was by JJ’s side in a heartbeat making sure the midfielder was okay as Christen and I spoke to the ref. The next good moment came in the 59th minute when Christen stole the ball. I groaned when she took a shot that wasn’t even close to being on target. Tobin and I were both open and would have had a better shot on goal.

I felt concern flood me in the 64th minute when (Y/N) went down. She was holding her leg a little as I approached her. The ref had already stopped the game as Kelley, and I hovered over her.

“Are you okay?” Kelley asked

“It’s my hamstring.” She said as she grimaced. That can’t be good.

Jill then subbed her out and put Sam into the game. I did my best to ignore the concern inside of me as we continued playing. In the 67th minute, Ellen White scored, but it was called off a minute later. I glanced towards the bench to see (Y/N) covering her mouth while talking to Pinoe which told me she was laughing. She had already spilled the beans earlier about England being one of her least favorite teams to play against. Her words, “They’re a bunch of clowns.” I mean I get why she thinks this… but she shouldn’t say it.

In the 78th minute, Ellen White went down in the box and I held my breath for a second as I waited for the ref to make her decision on whether or not it was going to be a penalty. She said no as I sighed in relief. What I wasn’t expecting was for her to go to VAR. The moment she did I knew it was going to be a penalty. I groaned when she came back with the decision. I knew immediately (Y/N) wasn’t going to stop complaining about this later. Especially, because the foul in question was on Becky.

We lined up for the penalty as we waited for the ref to give the signal. Houghton stepped up to take the penalty and shot it right to the left as Alyssa fell to the left. Alyssa stood as we all hugged her. I have never been more relieved than in this moment. Alyssa then yelled for all of us to start running as I took a glance towards the bench. Everyone was up celebrating, and I could see Ash, Pinoe, and (Y/N) celebrating like idiots.

In the 85th minute, I was taken down yet again and this time maybe was the worst time. I immediately started rolling in pain as Kelley and them came over to check on me. I tried to focus on something else as I waited for the pain to subside. I knew that (Y/N) was probably livid mainly because she couldn’t be on the field with me. Her first reaction whenever I go down is to always make sure I am okay. I could hear the crowd cheering as the ref gave Bright a second yellow which resulted in a red card. England having ten players was definitely going to make it easier for us, but I don’t think the pain in my leg felt as lucky yet. Kelley helped me up as I took another glance to the bench. (Y/N) was on her feet with an angered look on her face. Pinoe seemed to have a grip on her as caught my girlfriends’ eye. I shook my head as she nodded before turning back to go sit down.

I was taken down again a few minutes later as I laid there. I was going to need some cuddles from my girlfriend and a long nap after this game. This is very not cool for it being my birthday. (Y/N) is right. England are a bunch of clowns.

Thankfully, the rest of the game continued without me being taken down like I was throughout the whole game. I grinned when the final whistle went. My eyes immediately searched for (Y/N) as our teammates ran onto the field. I saw her limping slightly. She had a bag of ice wrapped to her leg as I made my towards her. She smiled and hugged me picking me up a little.

“I am ready to commit murder for you.” She said as I laughed.

“Please don’t. Orange isn’t your color.” I said as she grinned at me. We made our way around the field hugging our teammates and shaking the hands of the English players. I did truly feel bad for them, but also…not that bad. I got pulled aside for media and interviews which I tried to get through as fast as possible.

“Can I just say that she is so much fun to sit next to…” Pinoe said to me as I shook my head. “I mean…she was ready to run onto the field and murder someone. Just for you.”

“I know she told me.” I said as she grinned.

“I thought she was going to for a moment. I had to keep a grip on her to make sure she didn’t”

“I believe it.” I said as she was pulled away to do some stuff.

I then made my way to the locker room. I shook my head upon hearing the music blasting as I walked into the room. I saw some of them with their shirts off dancing including my girlfriend. She was dancing next to JJ while Allie was filming all of them. I grinned as Allie then went to post the video. I walked over to (Y/N) and pulled her in for a kiss.

“To the final.” I said as she grinned at me.

“To the final.” She said as we continued celebrating.

After all the excitement, we ended up getting cake and stuff for my birthday as well as Crystals. It was amazing getting to celebrate with everyone. Eventually, we made our way back to the hotel. I was excited because I had got permission to go celebrate with my family a little. (Y/N) wanted to let me have family time so she said she was going to occupy herself with the youngins while I was gone.

Getting to spend time with my family was amazing. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I was sitting with them.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” my mom asked me as I sat playing with my niece. Gosh, (Y/N) wasn’t kidding when she said my mom loved her.

“She wanted to let me have some time with you guys. She is out hanging with her kids right now.”

“She has kids?!” my dad asked me in shock.

“Not her real kids. Mal and them. We call them her kids because she is very protective over them.” I explained as they nodded.

“I do love her Alex.” My mom said as I nodded my head.

“So do I.” I said as she smiled. Everyone smiled at me. I know it was really difficult for them to see me as hurt as I was with Servando, so I couldn’t imagine how they must feel now that I am with (Y/N).

“Have you talked to…you know who?” Jeni asked me as I frowned. I really didn’t want to talk about this.

“No, he hasn’t said anything to me…I did find out that he ran into (Y/N) in the lobby two days ago.”

“What?” Jeri asked in surprised as everyone had wide eyes. “And she didn’t kill him…?”

“She has a great amount of self-control.” I joked before being a little more serious. “I don’t actually know what happened. She didn’t tell me what was said. Just said she ran into him.”

“You don’t find that weird?”

“Of course, I’m not going to push though. I just got her to forgive me so…I am not taking any chances.”

“Well…he better stay away if he knows what’s good for him.” My mom said as I nodded my head.

“(Y/N) and I already got into a huge fight over it. She made me promise not to see him.”

“…and you agreed? You don’t find that a little controlling?” Jeri asked with confusion.

“I get why she doesn’t want me to see him. I care more about my relationship with her than I do about seeing him.” I said as she nodded.

We continued spending time together before it was time to go back into the bubble with the team. As I was making my way towards the elevators to go find (Y/N). I heard my name be called out and boy if I didn’t want to die on the spot…

“Alex.” Servando called out as I stopped and faced the man. I hadn’t seen him over a year and having him right in front of me felt surreal. “Hey…”

“Hi…” I said trying to hide my discomfort. I had wanted to see him, but now that I was in front of him…I felt guilty. Maybe even a little disgusted with myself.

“Can we talk?” he asked as I bit my lip. “I mean…if you’re not to busy.”

“I…yeah sure…” I said as he smiled at me. We walked out over through the doors that led outside where the pool was. I know (Y/N) made me promise not to see him, but what was I supposed to say.

“Happy Birthday by the way.” He said as I gave him a small smile. “So…”

“What do you want?” I asked as he frowned a little.

“I just want to talk…I came all the way to France to talk.” He said as I rolled my eyes. I so did not miss the beating around the bush bullshit that he does. I am so glad that (Y/N) is straightforward and blunt albeit a little mean sometimes.

“So…talk…” I said as his frown deepened

“I miss you. I realized a little while ago that I missed you. I love you. I made maybe the biggest mistake of my life doing what I did to you. I ruined the best thing to ever happen to me. Alex…I would give anything for a second chance to be with you again. I realized that you’re my soulmate. I was made to love you. I want a second chance.”

I sat for a moment taking in everything he said. I know this exactly why (Y/N) didn’t want me to see him.

“Servando…no.” I said as he furrowed his eyebrows. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but it doesn’t change anything. You cheated on me while we married after we were together for almost ten years. Why would this time be any different?”

“Because I know better now…I know you’re the one meant for me.”

“You didn’t know before? We were fucking married. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“We can still do that.”

“No, we can’t.” I said as she shook his head. “I am in a relationship.”

“What?” he asked with a look of disbelief.

“Yeah…and it’s going amazing. I’ll be honest with you. I am completely in love. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. She is who I wake up to and who I go to bed with and I will die before I give that up.”

“She?” he asked with an irritated expression. “So, what you’re gay now?”

“Bisexuality is a thing you know…” I said glaring at him. He is so lucky that none of the girls are around because they for sure would have beat his ass for that comment.

“You’ve never been interested in girls before.”

“You don’t know that…” I said rolling my eyes.

“So, who is it?” he asked crossing his arms at me. “Let me guess…is it that (Y/N) girl? She seemed pretty irritated with me when we ran into each other. I thought maybe it was because she knew I cheated on you, but maybe it’s because she’s dating you.”

“It is her actually…and I can tell you that she is better than you’ll ever be. She’s the love of my life. She would never even think about cheating on me.”

“You say that like it was so easy for me to do it.” He said as I stared at him with an incredulous look. “It wasn’t easy being with you. You were never around, and I was constantly being berated on the internet because how could I ever be good enough for THE Alex Morgan…I was treated like a joke Alex. I was blamed for you leaving Portland….I was blamed for every little thing that went wrong in your life…do you think that was easy for me?”

“Do you think it was easy to be cheated on? You made me look like a joke to everyone in our lives. When I said my vows, I meant them. I was going to love you no matter what and I did my best. It’s not my fault that I am better than you. I am never going to sacrifice my career just because you had your feelings hurt. You broke my heart. You almost ruined my entire life. You know who was there to pick up the pieces that you left…(Y/N). These last two years she has been the biggest constant in my life. She has been there for every phone call. Every time I needed her; she was there. We weren’t even together, and she was still going out of her way to be there. That’s what I need. You will never be half of what she is.” I said as I stood up to walk away. He grabbed my arm forcefully pulling me back and kissing me. I stood for a moment in shock before I pulled away and slapped him.

“Don’t you ever put your hands on me again or I will call the fucking police. I’m not kidding Servando. Stay away from me and my family or so help me god…I will make you regret it.” I said as I walked away from him.

I made my way upstairs to my room. I walked in and tried to calm down as I took some deep breaths. I have no idea how I was going to explain this to (Y/N). She was going to be so mad at me. I paced a little until I heard the door open. In walked my girlfriend who had a bright smile on her face.

“Hey!” she said as she sat down. “How as the time you got with your family?”

“It was good.” I said and it must have been the nervousness on my face that tipped her off.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to tell you.” I said as she frowned.

“Why?”

“Cause you’re going to yell at me and I don’t want to be yelled at right now.”

“Whats going on?” she asked with a tired expression.

“I saw Servando.” I said as she looked at me. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor with a conflicted expression. “He kissed me.”

Her head snapped up as she stood up as I took a step back. I don’t think she would ever lay her hands on me, but I also knew she had a temper and could explode at any moment.

“He what? See…this is exactly why I told you not to go see him. Jesus Alex.” She said starting to pace around the room.

“I know.” I said as she stopped and stared at me with a pained expression.

“You promised me…”

“I know. He caught me in the lobby and asked if we could talk…I said yes, and we did talk. I told him to leave me alone and then he kissed me, and I slapped him.”

“You slapped him?” she asked as I nodded my head. “What did you talk about?”

“He told me he still loved me and wanted to get back together. He also said some hurtful things about what kind of wife I was and implied that I forced him to cheat because of being away due to my career and how he got bullied a lot and…yeah…” I said as she frowned.

“Do you want me to kill him?” she asked seriously as I chuckled a little.

“No.” I said as she nodded her head.

“I am not going to lie Alex. I’m really pissed off right now. I begged you not to see him.” She said closing her eyes as I nodded. “I don’t get it. Why is it that every single time I ask you not to do something…you do it…? Like, that genuinely pisses me off.”

“I know…and I am sorry. How can I make this better?” I asked as she sighed running her hand through her hair. She stood up walking over to her bag. She pulled out a box that was wrapped in some gift paper as she turned towards me.

“Here.” She said handing over the box. “It’s your birthday present.”

I opened the box to reveal a Rolex watch. It was diamond incrusted and inside the watch was an engraving that said, ‘Alex Morgan 13’ in fancy letters. On the back, it said, ‘Dream Big because Dreams do Happen.” It was a cheesy quote but it made my heart swell that she put so much thought into the gift.

“Kelley told me she was getting you some necklace, so I decided to get you something that was a little more fancy. I’ve had it for a while actually.” She said looking down.

“I love it. I’ll wear it all the time.” I set the box down as I took her face in my hands. She frowned as she took a hold of me and pulled away.

“I feel like…god this is so shitty…I feel like maybe we need a break.” She said as I felt my heart begin to break.

“No.” I said as tears started to threaten to come out… “Please don’t do this…”

“Listen to me…I love you, but it feels like all we have done lately is fight…”

“We had one big fight…”

“Over a huge thing Alex…you betrayed my trust.” She said as I wasn’t even stopping the tears. She was really gonna break up with me on my birthday.

“I said I was sorry…” I said as she nodded.

“I know and I know you’re sorry, but if we can’t make it through a month or two without something happening every other day…then we shouldn’t be together.”

“Listen to me…you are the love of my life. I want to be with you and only you.” I said as she nodded her head.

“I know.”

“If you know…then you won’t end things…you have been my rock for two years now. You are the person I am meant to be with. Not Servando. Not anyone else. I need you more than I need air. The idea of losing you tears me apart and I feel like I can’t function.”

“I feel the same way.” She said.

“Then don’t end things.” I pleaded as she sighed again. “I am begging you.”

“I don’t know Alex…” she said softy giving me a sad look. “How do you expect us to make this work…”

I thought about it for a moment. I understand where she is coming from, but on the other hand. I can’t live without her. I would rather die than go another moment where she isn’t mine. I know in my heart that there is no one I would rather be with. My thoughts were racing as I tried to come up with something to answer her. I needed something big that would convince her to stay. I know she loves me. I know she wants to be with me. She needs me to show her that I am just as committed. Her love and devotion has never been questioned by anyone in our relationship. It’s always me that everyone has doubts about. If there was ever a moment to prove my love, this was it.

I looked up at her and wiped away my tears as I gave her a serious look. She still had a sad look on her face as I decided that this was in fact what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to ever go another day without that beautiful face. I know in my heart that this is the right decision, and no one can convince me otherwise. Though, there is no going back after this…

“Let’s get married.”

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Family Forever

(Y/N) POV:

I was numb. I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I never thought I could feel pain like this again. It was one thing when just a few people in my life knew. It’s all different now. The world knows. They know what I am. A disappointment. An abomination. Never really being good enough. A burden. Selfish. The thoughts that plague me when I’m alone. They are out there for everyone to know now.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Becky asked me as I shook my head.

“No.” I said shortly as she sighed. I walked away from her towards the field without talking to anyone.

I knew that it wasn’t their fault that this has happened, but I didn’t want the pity that they were looking at me with. I have never done well with being given sympathy. I just wanted to continue training and keep going in my day like usual, but I had a feeling that they weren’t going to let me. The looks that I was being given were starting to become extremely annoying. I know they have all seen the video and had heard the words used to describe me. Certain people had made a point to avoid me completely due to a certain reference in the video which I thought to be a smart decision. I didn’t have the patience to deal with anyone right now.

I wanted nothing more than to disappear and fall off the face of the planet. I wanted to go and crawl into bed and never come out again. It’s hard enough trying to push out all the bad memories that had found its way back into my head. My emotions had gone into overdrive as all the past pain I have felt resurfaced and overloaded my feelings. My head had yet to stop hurting and the pain in my chest had yet to subside.

As our practice started, I could already feel the tension starting to become too much. I was barely allowed to train due to having my hamstring be a little injured. Which means that my usual stress reliever was taken away from me.

“Light training” Dawn said to me as I nodded. For most of training, I was off by myself. I had started to get lost in my thoughts. This really was my worst nightmare come true. No one could fix this. No one could take away the pain I was feeling in my heart.

All the memories of that time in my life have resurfaced and has completely thrown me off of everything. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. All I want to do is crawl into bed and shut the world out. I don’t know how to face anyone outside of the people who hadn’t known about this.

“Hey.” I turned towards Alex who had a soft look on her face. She walked towards me pulling me in for a hug. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not” I mumbled as she nodded her head. She pulled away and gave me a sad look.

“I know.” She said as I stared at her. I wanted to accept her comfort, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be comforted right now.

She was called back to practice as I continued doing the light training on the side. Eventually, I was able to walk back into the locker room. I elected not to shower or anything. Doing light training was a piece of cake for me…so barely any sweat. Worst comes to worst I’ll take one later.

I started feeling irritation build as everyone continued giving me concerned looks. I was so not in the mood. I grabbed my stuff before exiting the locker room. I made my way to the bus that we were using as I found my seat and sunk down a little. The ride back to the hotel felt short as I immediately made my way to Alex and I’s room.

I walked in and placed my stuff on the bed as I tried to keep my composure. I wanted to scream and yell and destroy something as I felt my emotions build. I felt arms wrap around my waist as Alex rested her head on my back.

“Please talk to me.” She said though she sounded like she was pleading with me.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I said as she sighed. “It is what it is.”

She placed a soft kiss on the back of my neck as I closed my eyes. I was trying so hard to let myself be comforted by her, but it wasn’t happening. I needed more time before I could accept it from her or anyone else.

“I’m here if you change your mind.” I nodded my head as she stood for another moment cuddling into my back as I rummaged through my bag. “I’m going to go see Kelley and them for a few minutes, but I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.” I mumbled as she gave me one more kiss before exiting the room.

I stood for a moment as soon as she was gone. The silence in the room was deafening as I tried to fight back the tears. I bit my lip as I tried taking deep breaths. My throat was tightening up and I was finding it harder to breath. I didn’t realize how much I needed to be alone until right now.

I have been surrounded by people since the day started and haven’t had a time to really be alone and process. I glanced down at my phone as I scrolled through the messages from Sebastian and Santiago. They had been trying to talk to me all day, but I had yet to answer them. I don’t know if it was shame or embarrassment even though I knew out of everyone they would understand the most.

As my thoughts continued going at a mile a minute, my breathing was becoming shallower as I started feeling nauseous. I ran into the bathroom emptying what little contents of breakfast I had into the toilet. I fell to the grounded as I started sobbing to myself.

After a few minutes, I had stopped crying for the most part. I had yet to actually watch the video that had ruined my life and I guess now would be the time. I pulled my phone and out pulled up the video that was still trending on twitter. I clicked on it as a fresh wave of tears hit me.

“Welcome back to CBN news as we are currently joined by Brian (Y/LN), the father of current US Soccer Star (Y/N) (Y/LN). Thank you for joining us Mr. (Y/LN).”

“Oh, please call me Brian.” He said as I felt more tears fall. I wasn’t even trying to stop it from happening at this point.

“So, I understand that you and your daughter are quite estranged? Is that right?”

“Yes, we haven’t spoken in some time…”

“Can you explain why that is?”

“If I can be frank, she chose the life of sin over her family.” I paused the video as I continued sobbing. Once I was a little more composed, I pressed play. “She is the abomination of our family.”

“So, does that mean that you have not been viewing this addition of the Women’s World Cup?”

“I have been watching. As has my whole family…obviously we want to support our women’s team, but with so much controversy surrounding the team and having to watch my daughter play…I won’t lie I have found it quite difficult to enjoy this wonderful game.”

“Bullshit.” I mumbled to myself as I continued watching the video.

“Look, I’ll be honest with you. I love my daughter. If she were to give up this life of sin, I would happily accept her back into my life. All I want is my little girl to come home.” I clenched my jaw as it started playing pictures of me when I was younger. Pictures of me with my family and my siblings. “This is not the life I had envisioned for my family…and when (Y/N) is ready to stop running around playing these silly games…she will be welcomed with open arms.”

“So, do you support her and this team at the World Cup?” the interviewer asked as my dad seemed to think about it for a moment.

“It would be anti-patriotic of me to say that I don’t support my countries national team in a world tournament…but if I could change anything…I don’t necessarily think I would want to send my daughter to represent our great nation…I would prefer a player who is closer to their religion…maybe a Jaelene Hinkle.” I watched them finish out the interview as the screen went black.

It was definitely worse than I thought it was. I felt the pain in my body start to become unbearable as I tried to find some control over myself. The more I tried the harder I cried. I haven’t cried like this in a while and honestly, I hate that for me.

I was so caught up in myself that I hadn’t heard the door open before I looked up to see Alex standing there with a look of concern. She immediately was by my side as I tried to wipe away my tears.

“It’s okay. I got you.” She said as pulling me into her. She started rubbing circles on my back as I sobbed into her shoulder. I clung to her like she would disappear if I let go. “You’re okay. Nothing can hurt you.”

“It hurts so much…” I whimpered as she started running her fingers through my hair. “I just want it to stop…”

“I know.” She pulled back and stared at me. I think she recognized that I was still having somewhat of a panic attack. She took my face in her hands forcing me to look at her. “Match my breathing. Slow breaths. In and out.”

She continued trying to calm me down as I started to relax a little. This was one of the biggest reasons that I needed her. She brought me comfort when nothing else could. My heart hurt less whenever she was around. I was always going to need her.

“That’s it.” She said as I started to return to normal. I was still letting out a whimper hear and there as I continued sniffling. “It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry.” I said as she shook her head.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” She said as I looked down. We sat in silence for a minute or two before I spoke up.

“I’m an abomination.” I whispered as Alex closed her eyes and started shaking her head.

“No. No. No. You are not an abomination. You are the greatest person I have ever known.” She said as I stared at her with teary eyes. “I can tell you and so can anyone else you talk too…you are a gift to all of us. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you. You are everything to me and more.”

“I just wish I didn’t exist sometimes…” I mumbled as she shook her head again.

“You may feel that way…but I am so grateful for your existence. You are undoubtedly the love of my life and every life after this…”

I stared at her as she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Her lips felt soft compared to my dry cheeks. I leaned into her a little as my body finally wanted the comfort that she was giving. I closed my eyes as she continued holding me and running her fingers through my hair. To be honest, if my mind wasn’t in such turmoil…I could definitely fall asleep in her arms.

“Can we talk about something else?” I asked softly as she nodded her head.

“Let’s talk about something I actually care about.” She said as I shot her a weak smile. I know she was joking by the way she smiled at me. Her humor is what I needed right now. “Like my marriage proposal?”

I chuckled to myself a little as I stared at her. I knew the moment she asked me what my answer was going to be. The idea of living without her was physically painful. Was there ever any other option?

“Catching me when I am vulnerable.” I said as she frowned. “Smart.”

“We don’t have to talk about it. I was just changing the subject. I can change it again.” She said with a look of worry on her face.

“You know…the day I realized that I was in love with you…it was the worst day of my life…” I said as I continued sniffling a little.

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” She said as I looked at her.

“It was the worst day of my life because I realized that I could never love anyone the way I loved you.” She smiled and looked down slightly. I smiled as I waited for her to look back up at me. “I don’t want to say yes, and you think its because of everything that has happened today. I want you to know that I love you more than anything. I don’t feel like I exist without you. Maybe that’s not completely healthy, but its true. I want to marry you because there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you.”

“I love you so much.” She said with a grin as she kissed me. “So, we are engaged then…”

“I guess so.” I said as she smiled at me. She pulled me in for another kiss as we sat there on the bathroom floor. “God, this day is so weird.”

“Yeah” she said laughing as she stood. “Come on.”

I took her hand as she pulled me up. We walked into the room as I watched her move around the room. I thought about what a shit day today had been. I don’t know if its because of that or the fact that looking at her right now…I see my future…but I don’t want to wait.

“Let’s do it now.” I said as she stopped and stared at me.

“Do what?” she asked with confusion. I smiled slightly.

“Get Married.” I said as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” she asked me as I smiled at her. She gave me a look as I approached her.

“Hear me out.” I said as she crossed her arms. “I have waited literal years to be with you. I have known since forever that you are the only one meant for me and when I say I don’t want to wait another second…I mean it…I want to be married right now.”

“You’re serious.” She said with disbelief as I nodded my head.

“Deadly.”

“What about our friends and my family and…”

“We could still have a wedding with the ceremony and stuff…we would have to get the marriage certificate beforehand anyway…we just won’t tell anyone that we got married.”

“…and I thought I was a little crazy when I asked you…” she said as I grinned.

“Also, we are in France…arguably the most romantic place in the world. Why not get married when we are here on the verge of winning the world cup?”

“Some points are being made…”

“I’ll take the heat for not waiting…but I want to be married now…”

“Okay…” she said as I grinned. “Let’s get married.”

I grinned as she grabbed her jacket. We went to exit the room and ran right into Christen and Becky. Both gave me concerned looks as I shook my head.

“Can’t talk now. Got to go.” I said taking Alex’s hand in mine and moving past them.

“Hold it.” Becky said as I stopped and groaned. “Where are you going?”

“On a date.” I said as Becky gave me a skeptical look.

“Where are you really going?” Christen asked giving me a serious look. “Don’t lie. I’ll know if you lie.”

I looked to Alex who gave a slight head nod.

“We are going to get married.” I said as they both gave me looks.

“I said…don’t lie.” Christen said as I raised my eyebrows a little. She gave me a more serious look. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly.” Alex said as I nodded my head. “You can’t say anything though. It’s a secret.”

“Do you want to be our witness or witnesses?” I asked as they both stared at me.

“We came over here to make sure you were okay…because we knew that you were having a rough day…and now you’re getting married?”

“Yes…your point?” I asked as Alex gave me a look.

“Be nice.”

“You don’t feel like you’re rushing things?” Christen asked crossing her arms.

“Look, as long as she is still on board to do this…we are doing it. So, you can either come and be our witnesses or shut up about it. It doesn’t matter. All I know is I am getting hitched today.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” Christen asked as I frowned.

“Maybe a little.” I said as I looked to Alex who gave me a small smile. “Crazy in love.”

“Oh Jesus…” Becky said as I turned towards them.

“Look, I know you think this is crazy. I know you probably don’t approve, but I have never been surer of something I have wanted than this…she’s the love of my life. I know it and you know it. This is the right decision. It doesn’t matter if we get married now or tomorrow or even years from now…because the love I have for her is never going to change. I will never change my mind.”

They both gave me looks of concern before they sighed. They seemed to have a silent conversation before both nodding their heads.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Becky asked as I looked to Alex who shrugged.

“No.”

“For fucks sake…” Christen mumbled pulling her phone out. A moment later she smiled as she turned her screen towards us. “This one has great reviews. They are also 24 hours so…”

“Then, what are we waiting for?” Alex said as I grinned at her. The four of us then went down to the lobby and exited the hotel. It wasn’t long be we were at the chapel. We quickly started filling stuff out as we filled out the documents we would need.

“Which one of you is changing your name?” Christen asked holding the paper.

“Me.” I said quickly as all three looked at me. “What?”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to.” Alex said as I nodded my head.

“I’m sure. I don’t need to keep my last name. There’s nothing good about my family. I don’t want to spend forever dwelling on what I don’t have. I’d much rather appreciate what I do have and build a better future for myself.”

“My last name it is then…” Alex said looking to Christen who had a small smile on her face. Christen was definitely coming around to this.

“Okay. That should be it.” Christen said handing us the paperwork to look at. We made sure everything was correct before turning it back in.

We waited for a bit before it was time for us to have the mini ceremony. We had changed into some more formal clothes as I was wearing a little suit and Alex had elected for a white dress. I stood at the alter waiting for Alex to walk down. Becky was next to me as Alex had chosen Christen to stand in place of a maid of honor type thing.

“This is crazy.” Becky said as I nodded.

“It sure is.” I said as music started to play. Christen came down first giving me a small look as I smiled at her.

I felt my breath get caught in my throat as Alex was next. She looked beautiful as I stared at her in amazement. She looked breathtaking now…I could only imagine what she would look like on the actual day when we have the big ceremony. Becky and Christen both moved a little and were filming on their phones as Alex and I stood facing each other.

The guy started talking going through all the traditional marriage stuff as I stared at Alex. She looked so good.

“Vows?” he asked us as I looked to Alex. She smiled at me shaking her head slightly.

“You know…the roads we took to get to this moment were really long. The pain we went through and the heartache we had to go through to find our way to each other. Almost unbearable, but I thank god every day that he brought you to me. After everything that happened, I didn’t think that I was ever going to find love again…find in someone who manages to be stubborn yet compromising. Someone who is so not sympathetic yet manages to be the most kind-hearted person I know. No one makes my heart beat the way you do. No one understands me the way you do. You have the softest heart of anyone I know and I can’t wait to get to spend the rest of my life getting to know everything about it. As dumb as it may sound, you are what makes my world spin. The sun and the moon don’t rise and fall unless I have you around. Everything is dull without you. I don’t ever want to go a day without your smile in my sight. Your touch sets my skin on fire and when you look at me it feels like I am standing in a spotlight. You make me feel like I can do anything and everything. I know that with you by myside, I’ll never be alone again. I am so unbelievably in love with you (Y/N) (Y/LN).”

“How the fuck am I supposed to follow that?” I asked as she laughed softly. “I’ve loved you for so long. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to show that, but I knew I could love you better than anyone. I’ve said it before, but I am so serious when I say that the day, I realized I loved you, I knew I would never be able to love anyone else that way. The path to get to this moment hasn’t been easy. It’s been the most stressful thing, but every time I look at you, I know it was worth it. I know I would go down that path again just to make it back into your arms every single time. I don’t trust easily…but I trust you more than anyone…I know you don’t believe me when I say that, but it’s true. A lot of things don’t make sense to me…I’ve made more mistakes in my life doing what I thought was right…but I can confidently say that you make the most sense to me. I didn’t think I could ever open my heart like this, but this love is undeniable. The mere idea of ever being without it tears me apart. No one else has the power to hurt me, but I am right here giving it to you because I know my heart is safe. I am so unequivocally in love with you Alex Morgan. You’ve always been and will remain to be the greatest thing that I have had the privilege of loving.”

The officiator continued going through everything as we eventually were pronounced wife and wife. I grinned and pulled her into me giving her a kiss. She smiled as we leaned our foreheads against each other. We had on cheap rings that barely counted as rings as I made a silent promise to myself to get her a better one.

“Okay…like that was cute.” Christen said as I grinned. “I can’t believe you’re married.”

“Believe it.” I said as I grinned at Alex. “Also, send me the videos.”

We exited the chapel and made our way back to the hotel. I was ecstatic as we reached our room after making Christen and Becky promise not to say anything. I grinned at Alex as she was looking down at her phone. My wife. Jesus. I will never get tired of saying that.

“Babe come to bed.” I said as the forward looked up at me. She tilted her head a little as I opened my arms. She climbed into them resting her head on my chest.

“You know what I just realized…”

“hmm?”

“We didn’t have sex before marriage.” She said as I looked at her. “Though, not for a lack of trying. Because let’s be clear…I have tried.” 

“God, I hope the sex is good…” I mumbled as she shot me a look, “Like not to be mean, but definitely grounds for divorce.”

She slapped my shoulder as I grinned at her. She leaned down and kissed me as I held her close. We had training tomorrow, so I knew for a fact she wasn’t going to want tonight to be our first.

“Where do you want to honeymoon?” I asked as she cuddled into my chest.

“We can talk about it. I think we might have to wait until the offseason to go on our honeymoon.”

“Yeah…I think so too.”

“We can make up for all the lost time when we do that…” she said giving me a small smile as I grinned at her.

“Yeah…maybe we should just go to a fancy hotel and then just never leave the room.” I said as she chuckled.

“I want to go somewhere cute.” She said as I nodded my head.

“You can pick a place. I’m not picky.” I said as she nodded.

“I know…do you have a preference on anywhere though…like tropical? Or something?”

“Anywhere we get to go swimming…it’s my favorite thing to do with you…”

“You just like stare.” She teased as I grinned.

“Yeah…have you seen you? My wife is the hottest woman I have ever seen.”

“Perv.”

“Yeah…well you married me…”

“I can’t believe we are married…” she said as she stared at me with a grin.

“Yeah…you don’t regret it do you?”

“Never.” She said kissing me. I smiled as we laid there for a few more minutes. I was enjoying just getting spend time with her. This day had started out being absolute crap. My dad had put all my business out there letting the whole world know that I had been disowned for being gay.

There were people supporting me and people saying it’s what I deserved. Mostly though I was gaining a lot of support. I keep asking myself why he would do this during the middle of the tournament, but then I remember that he doesn’t actually care about me. It’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when he did. I hadn’t seen anything about the rest of my family, and it makes me wonder if they even knew he was planning on doing that. My brother probably did and encouraged it, but my mom and sister. My mom has never been one to stand up to my dad or the things he did. I haven’t forgot that she had told me that she was sure I would grow out of it, but what about my sister? She had always done whatever she could to protect me. Did she know that he was going to expose me to the entire world? What if she had changed her mind about me? What if she also thought I was an abomination? It’s been a long time since she had talked to me so that really wasn’t a far-off thought…

The family I had wanted so badly…all I ever wanted was for them to accept me. I wanted them to tell me they loved me. Was that so wrong? To be loved by those who are supposed to love you. Family love is supposed to be unconditional, yet they threw mine away so easily. My mind started drifting towards Alex and the team as I continued thinking about family.

I had a family. It took me a real long time to realize that. I had Sebastian and Santiago who had taken me in without a second thought. They never let me go a day without knowing how much they care. The rest of the team had always been there for me too whether I knew it or not. My kids who had never really left my side when everything went down before. Even if they knew I was wrong, they didn’t leave my side. They made sure I was okay and that I had someone to talk to. They were teaching me to be more open and just to enjoy the life I have been given.

I had Becky who despite recognizing me as a whole mess, had never once turned me away. She had let me cry and feel the pain while also telling me how much of a good person I was. She let me be me without having to apologize for the parts of me that weren’t so great. She accepted me the way a mother should accept their child. I don’t think I could ever tell her that she reminds me of my mom though…that might be a little embarrassing and I just know she won’t let me live it down. And Christen, a relationship that is so complicated for me. I hurt her and broke her trust, yet she was still there for me never once making me feel like I was a bad person. Even when I devastated her…she always reminds me to stop and breathe and make sure I am okay before anything else. She accepted me into her life without a second thought. I really need to learn to be a better friend to her, because she deserves better than the bullshit, I put her through.

Then, there’s Alex. The girl I have loved for so long. The one I had known I needed the moment she entered my life. The spark between us and the way we interacted just made sense. No one has ever understood me that much that fast. She just seemed to get it whenever I spoke and the way she spoke just stole my whole heart. The way she looks at the world. The way she is a role model to those who look up to her. She worries so much about being a good person, but also just enjoying life. Life has been unkind to her. She’s told me before that she is damaged though I disagree. I am damaged though. Maybe that’s why we both are so drawn to each other. We have both had our hearts broken in half. So, together we make a whole. She’s my person. The one I will always need. Part of the reason I married her. I don’t know what the future holds for us given how hectic our lives are. I know though that I can’t wait to explore life now that I have her by my side for good.

“Hey…” Alex said softly reaching up and wiping a stray tear from eye. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I said as she gave me a concerned look. “Just got lost in my thoughts.”

“Are you sure?” she asked as I nodded.

“Yea. I was just thinking about you and the girls and my boys…the family I didn’t know I had until recently.”

“Well…you and I are officially family forever so…” she laughed as I nodded

“Yeah I guess we are…and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you Alex.” I said as she grinned at me leaning up to give me a kiss.

“I love you too.” She said as she gave me another kiss. She made sure our alarms were set for the next day. It was one more day of training and media before we would have to play against the Netherlands in the final. I was hoping I would be healed enough to play which according to Dawn. I should be so…I don’t know if I am more excited to get to play on my birthday, play with my wife, or play in a World Cup final…mark it as all of the above. All I know is, these next few days are going to be very interesting.

**To Be Continued…**


	15. We Won

(Y/N) POV:

I was walking with Pinoe as we were both called to do media for the final. I found it convenient considering that her, Alex, and I had been in the news the most due to our own controversies. We had training earlier and now it was time for media. After this, I was going to be able to go back and be with Alex. It had been a day since we got married. No one knew that we had done that other than Becky and Christen. So far, they had not said anything to anyone.

“What are you going to say if they ask you about the video?” Pinoe asked as I shrugged.

“I don’t know. What do you say when your homophobic dad says you’re a disgrace to your family?” I asked looking to her as she sighed.

“No comment?” she said as I laughed slightly

We were ushered into a room and sat at a table as everyone quieted down. I had a little anxiety as I waited for the first question. Pinoe took the first couple questions as I just nodded my head to whatever she said.

“Question for (Y/N)…” I leaned forward slightly as I listened to the question. “Obviously, recent controversy for you….is this something that is on your mind for the game?”

“No, not at all…I mean is it something that’s been on my mind? For sure…but when I step out onto the pitch the only thing on my mind is winning…so, I don’t think my team has anything to worry about.”

“I trust you.” Pinoe said as I grinned at the girl next to me. We moved onto the next question as we continued going back and forth answering everything.

“The Netherlands national team has repeatedly stated that they feel like they are the underdogs going into this game…that you guys are the Goliath to their David….what do you think?” I chuckled slightly at the analogy of David and Goliath as Pinoe looked to me.

“I feel like you can’t really consider the current European Champions the underdogs in any situation.” I said as Pinoe smiled and nodded her head slightly. We had already heard about these comments and talked about how kind of ridiculous they were. “I mean…they had the easier route to the final and they knocked out Sweden, which is great, but I don’t see them as underdogs. I see them as a phenomenal team with some great talented players. A team that is no doubt going to give us some trouble. I can’t wait to play against them.”

They seemed to accept the answers as the rest of the press conference continued on. Once we were done, Pinoe and I left and got to make our way back to the hotel. We were walking pass the pool when I heard my name. I looked up and frowned when I saw the one and only Servando Carrasco approaching Pinoe and I.

“I need to talk to you.” He said as I raised an eyebrow at him.

“No, you don’t.” I said putting my phone in my pocket as Pinoe looked between us. She had a nervous expression for which I couldn’t blame her. I also don’t want to be standing in front of this dumbass.

“Yes, we do. It’s about Alex.” He said as I stared at him for a moment. I figured he probably was just going to tell me everything that happened form their conversation.

“What are you going to tell me?” I asked as he frowned at me. “Are you going to tell me that you asked her to give you another chance? That you blamed HER for YOUR cheating? Or maybe you want to tell me that you kissed her when she tried to walk away from you?”

“That’s not how it happened. She’s lying to you.” He said as I rolled my eyes.

“I doubt that. I trust her completely. Listen, I’m only going to tell you this once. Stay away from her.” I said as he shook his head.

“I can’t do that.” He said as I felt my blood start to boil. I could tell by the look on Pinoe’s face that she could see that this was already getting out of hand. “I love her. I made a mistake. She and I are meant to be. I won’t give up until I get her back.”

“You really are the biggest dumbass I have ever met.” I said as he started glaring at me. “She’s happy without you. In what version of this does she leave me for you?”

“Do you really think she loves you?” he asked as I clenched my jaw. “You’ve known her what…2 years? That’s just the time we were married…we were together for ten years. You don’t just let go of that overnight.”

“If you really loved her, why now? Why after 2 years of being divorced do you come back now?”

“Because I realized I can’t live without her.” He said his face going from anger to sadness in 2 seconds. I’m supposed to feel bad for this bitch. Ha. I don’t.

“If losing her is what made you realize that, then you didn’t deserve her in the first place.”

“And you do? You deserve her? You can’t give her the life she wants. You’re nothing. Your own family didn’t want you…how long until she changes her mind and doesn’t want you too?”

“Hey!” Pinoe said glaring at him as I tried to keep my composure.

“Go fuck yourself Servando.” I said as I turned to walk away from him.

“No, I’ll just wait for Alex to come do it for me.”

I immediately turned nailing a right hook straight to his jaw. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting it as he stumbled falling right into the pool. I watched him go under before resurfacing. He looked up at me as he held his jaw. I bent down and pointed at him angrily.

“Stay the hell away from my wife.” I whispered to him as his eyes widened slightly. “I’ll end you otherwise. I don’t want to hear her name come from your lips ever again or I will make your life a living hell.”

I stood and turned walking towards the elevators as Pinoe followed closely. We headed for the elevators as I grimaced at the pain in my hand.

“So…that thing you said….” I looked at Pinoe who had a somewhat disappointed expression on her face.

“You heard that?” I asked as she nodded her head. I frowned realizing that maybe I shouldn’t have said what I said.

“Is it true?” she asked as the doors to the elevators opened. “Are you guys really married?” I nodded my head as she frowned.

“It literally just happened and was like a last-minute decision.” I said as the midfielder nodded her head.

“When did it happen?” she asked as I turned towards her.

“Yesterday. Becky and Christen are the only ones who know.” I said as she nodded her head again.

“I won’t tell. Clearly, there is a reason you didn’t tell everyone. I respect it. Just know we will be there to support you guys.”

“I know. Everything the last couple of weeks has been chaotic and it’s the one thing that made sense to me.”

“I get that. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. With Servando? Maybe not.”

“Yeah, I will cross that bridge when I get there.” I said as she nodded her head.

We stepped off to our floor before I immediately found my way to my room. I opened the door with Pinoe entering behind me. Alex was lounging on our bed. She was talking with Kelley, Allie, Christen, and Tobin. They all immediately looked over at me with wide eyes as I was visibly shaking. Alex was up off the bed as she found her way to me.

“I think you’re going to have ice that.” Pinoe commented as I hissed in pain upon flexing my hand a little.

“What the hell did you do?” Alex asked taking my hand in hers as she examined it. I grimaced at the pain.

“Punched Servando in the face.” Her head immediately snapped up as I gave her a sheepish smile.

“You did what?” Tobin asked with wide eyes. I glanced at her before looking back to Alex who was still giving me a confused look.

“In her defense, he deserved it.” Pinoe commented as I nodded my head at her.

“He did.” I said as Alex frowned at me. Christen came up behind her with some ice wrapped in a little washcloth. Alex immediately shot the other forward a smile before taking the ice from her to put it on my hand. I hissed in pain again as everyone was staring at me.

“What could he have possibly said for you to punch him?” Allie asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“(Y/N) told him to go fuck himself and then he responded by saying he would just wait for Alex to do it for him.” Pinoe said rolling her eyes at my lack of answering.

“He said what?” Kelley asked with an angered expression. “Please tell me you hit him hard.”

“He fell into the pool.” I said as she grinned at me. I smiled at her, but it quickly turned into a frown upon seeing the upset look from Alex.

“Why don’t we give you guys a moment…” Christen said as she motioned everyone to exit the room as I stared at Alex.

“Pinoe knows we are married.” I said as Alex’s eyes widened significantly. “So does Servando.”

“Please tell me your joking.” She said with a frown as I shook my head. “How did that happen?”

“It all happened really fast.” I said as she shook her head looking at my hand. I moved my hand a little and felt relief wash over me as the pain in my hand began to subside.

“You should still ice it.” She mumbled as I nodded my head. I looked at her as she seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

“I’m sorry Alex.” I said as she shook her head looking up at me. She took my face in hands giving me a soft kiss.

“Don’t be. If he tells everyone, then he tells everyone. You are the best thing to have ever happened to me and I don’t care who knows that we are in love and bound to each other for the rest of our lives.”

“Kinky.” I said as she rolled her eyes. She smiled giving me another kiss.

“Please don’t go around punching anyone though. That’s a bad habit.” She said as I grinned at her.

“He deserved it.” I said as she nodded her head.

“I’m sure he did.” She said as I grinned at her nodding my head.

“He did!” I said as she laughed. “He was talking shit, so I had to put him in his place. As long as I am around, no one is ever going to speak ill about you.”

Eventually, I stopped icing my hand as we soon joined the rest of the group for some team bonding which mostly consisted of talking about our favorite moments from the tournament and how much we all love each other. Soon, we made it to bed as Alex and I were laying together. I was just about sleep when the forward jumped up, so she was straddling my waist. I stared at her with wide eyes as she stared down at me with a wide smile.

“Happy Birthday!” she said leaning down and pressing small kisses over my face. I smiled as she grinned at me.

“Thank you baby.” I said as she smiled.

“Do you want your gift now or later?” she asked as I smiled.

“Are you the gift?” I asked as she blushed. She shook her head no as I smiled slightly.

“Then, later.” I said as she pouted before nodding her head. She laid back down with me as we got comfortable again.

“I love you.” She said as I smiled slightly.

“I love you too.” I said as she grinned at me.

We fell asleep not long after that. When I woke up, I was being kissed again as I smiled. I grabbed the back of her neck pulling slightly so that I could take control of the kiss she was giving me. She let out a soft moan as she then pressed both her hands to my shoulders to keep me down on the bed. She was on top of me again as I smiled at her.

“What a wonderful way to wake up.” I breathed out as she smirked at me. Goddamn who knew Alex Morgan’s smirk could be so damn hot.

“Well…we are married now so…everyday…” she said as I laughed.

We both got up and started moving around to get dressed for the day. The final was today which was a huge deal. The Netherlands was going to give us everything and we had to be prepared. I had been cleared to play and was supposed to be in the starting lineup. I was ecstatic to get to play in my first World Cup final.

We made our way downstairs and I smiled when everyone said happy birthday to me. We were eating breakfast when Alex nudged me slightly. I looked over at her as she gave me a huge smile.

“So, I have a gift for you, but I also have a small surprise that I hope you like.” She said as I raised an eyebrow. “You have to close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes as the forward then moved. She placed her hands over my eyes as I groaned.

“I have to make sure you don’t peek.” She said as I huffed. She then helped me stand as I was turned around “Ready?”

She then took her hands off my eyes as I opened my eyes. My jaw dropped and my eyes started watering as Sebastian and Santiago stood in front of me with giant grins. I immediately threw myself at both boys as I was pulled into a hug by them.

“What are you doing here?” I asked trying to wipe away the tears.

“Alex flew us out. Did you really think we were going to miss our little sister playing in the World Cup Final?” Santiago asked as I smiled slightly. I hugged both boys again and stood talking with them until I had to leave them to head to the stadium. As we were exiting the room, I caught Alex’s arm and pulled her in for a kiss.

“I love you so much.” I said as she smiled at me.

“You deserve nothing but the best.” She said as I smiled at her. I really couldn’t love this girl more. “I love you too.”

We left the stadium and headed towards the stadium. As we got there, there were a ton of cameras as we entered the stadium. We got our stuff settled and then headed out for warm-ups. I walked out onto the pitch and smiled when I already saw some of the Netherlands players out there. My eyes found Lieke who seemed to see me. She smiled and came over to talk to me. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes which was mostly us just talking about how excited we were to play with each other next season.

Afterwards, we got to doing our warm-ups with our respective teams. The warm-ups continued for a little longer before we done and headed back into the locker room for final words before the game. I could tell everyone was feeling a little emotional as we got ready to walk out. Everything felt like a blur, as we were in our final huddle.

“Leave it out on the field.” Pinoe said as we all nodded our heads. “No matter what happens…this is our team and we did this.”

Alex and I were doing kick-off so we were standing waiting for the Netherlands national team to get in position. As they were running to all get ready, I jokingly tapped the ball to Alex who smiled and tapped it back to me.

“I love you.” She said as I gave her a soft smile.

“I love you too.” I said as the ref blew the whistle. I kicked the ball into our half as Alex ran the other way. She was so damn fast.

The game got off to a tricky start. The first half seemed to fly by with both teams doing everything they can to try and score. I don’t think any of us were playing that well to be honest. Kelley had got into a nasty head collision and I knew immediately that she was going to have to come out of the game. I groaned a little when another shot was missed. The first half seemed to end pretty quickly as we headed into the locker room.

“Well that sucked.” I said as I took a seat. Everyone seemed to let out a collective groan as we waited for Jill and them to say something.

“Are you good?” I looked over at JJ and nodded my head. I wasn’t going to let a bad half keep me down because this was the World Cup final and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I think we need to change tactics here.” Pinoe said as I nodded my head. We all continued talking about what we could do differently. After more talking, we got ready to head out to the field for the second half.

I felt a hand wrap around my arm as I turned towards Alex. She smiled and the grabbed my face pulling me in for a kiss. I smiled a little and then gave her a soft look.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We headed out back onto the field for the second half. Things sort of continued like they had before with all of us trying to score. In the 57th minute, I almost lost it when Tobin sent the ball into the box for Alex who was immediately kicked. She fell to the ground as we all started yelling for a card. I let Sam and them talk to the ref as I immediately moved to sit next to Alex. I rested my hand on her stomach as she stared at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked as she nodded her head. She brought her hand to rest on my arm as I smiled at her softly. She sat up and I helped her up as we got ready for the corner. I then watched ref put her hand on her ear as she then blew her whistle and motioned for a penalty check.

I looked at Alex who smiled at me as the other girls came over to talk about the possible penalty and what we could be doing better. I grinned when the ref came back and motioned for a penalty. I looked to Pinoe who immediately put her hands on her face. I walked over to her and gave her a pat on the back as she nodded her head at me.

I almost lost my shit when she scored as we celebrated going up one against the Netherlands. We quickly got back to the game as we continued playing. In the 68th minute, Crystal dispossessed Van de Donk and Sam immediately scooped the ball up. She then passed it to me as I ran upfield. I saw Alex was calling for it, but I felt like I had a shot as I moved the ball onto my left foot and took a shot. I watched as it rolled passed the keeper into the back of the net. I grinned as I stood scooping Alex up into a hug. The others celebrated with us as I held her for a second. I then ran to the bench and celebrated with the rest of my team. I couldn’t describe how it felt to score a goal after everything that has happened. Nothing but relief.

After that, we continued playing and trying to defend against the Netherlands. I knew they played better in the second half, so we needed to be as guarded as possible. As time went on though, I couldn’t help but feel like we had this in the bag. Our defense is too solid right now for us to lose here.

I had the ball and dribbled upfield a little to do a runaround just wanting the ref to blow the whistle. I felt my heart stop a little as the whistle went. My eyes immediately looked for Alex who was threw her hands up into the air. I smiled as I made my way towards her. I pulled her into a hug as she wrapped her arms around my neck. We stood there hugging as people joined our hug. Nothing else mattered in this moment. I’ve won a world cup with my wife. Nothing could be better right now.

“We did it.” I said as she grinned at me.

“We did it.”

We continued celebrating with everyone as we soon got our medals and got the trophy. Pinoe had got the golden boot with Alex getting the silver boot. Pinoe then got the golden ball with me getting the bronze ball. I was overjoyed at having got the honor of this award. I won’t lie I definitely shed a tear when we got the trophy. We then made our way towards the families and friends. I immediately looked for my boys as I spotted them. I ran towards them and hugged them.

“You’re a World Cup Champion!” Sebastian said as I grinned.

“Not bad kid…” Santiago said as I shook my head. I watched some of my other teammates celebrate with their families and smiled as I watched Kelley come over and kiss her girlfriend. Good for her. I turned and saw Alex talking with her family. I walked over as she turned and motioned for me to come closer.

“Congrats” Her mom said as I grinned at them. I talked to them for a few minutes as we then turned to walk away from them and head back to celebrate with the team.

“(Y/N)” I turned just as Alex took my face in her hands. She placed her lips on mine as I smiled. I rested my hands on her waist holding her close. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I said as she gave me somewhat of a shy smile.

“I hope that was okay.”

“You have permission to kiss me anytime for the rest of our lives.” I said as she grinned giving me another kiss and a hug.

Eventually, we made our way to the locker room where we continued celebrating though this time with Alcohol. I chuckled when I watched some of the girls just start downing drinks left and right. Though, Alex was one of those girls so…that might be a little concerning. I watched Christen pull a towel over her head as I made my way towards her. I pulled her in for a hug as she hugged me back. Kelley then inserted herself into our hug as she was jumping up and down.

“We did it! We won a World Cup.” She said screaming. “You scored in the final!!”

I grinned and nodded my head as Christen and her both smiled at me.

“That was a good goal. Your left foot is almost better than mine.” Christen said as I shook my head.

“Yeah well…my left food could never be as good as yours. No one has a better left foot than MY best friend.” I said grinning at the girl who shook her head. “Well, besides Alex.”

“HEY!” Kelley said pointing at me. “You admitted it! She admitted it! Oh my god. You guys!”

“You called her your best friend!!” Mal yelled pointing at us as I chuckled.

“And…? She is my best friend.” I said as they all started talking to each other with excited looks.

Kelley then turned towards everyone and started telling them what I had said as they all started freaking out over me calling Christen my best friend.

“I fucking knew it!” Sonnett yelled at me as I shook my head at all of them.

“Go celebrate with your wife.” Christen said quietly to me as I turned to see Alex twerking with Ashlyn filming her.

“Oh jesus…” I mumbled as I made my way over to her. She grinned at me as I stepped into her personal space. I was vaguely aware of Ashlyn still walking around filming everything as Alex wrapped her arms around me.

“You’re becoming a little drunk aren’t you…” I said as the forward shook her head. Damn her for being a lightweight.

“I feel great.” She said with her speech slurring a little.

“I can tell.” I said as she grinned at me before pulling me in for a kiss. I found Drunk Alex to be one of the most amusing things ever. I smiled into her kiss and rolled my eyes when I heard the catcalls from around the locker room.

We continued the celebrations all the way up until we left the stadium heading for the hotel. When we got back, we changed and I jumped slightly when Alex hugged me from behind.

“I have a gift for you.” She mumbled with her words slurring more than before. I turned as she handed me a box. It was small as I took the gift paper off of it. I opened the box to reveal a black ring that had a diamond in the shape of an arc reactor from ironman. The words, ‘To my safe place’ were inscribed on the inside of the band in silver letters.

“Alex…” I mumbled as the forward gave me a bright smile. “This is amazing.”

“The first night we ever talked you talked about liking superheroes and your love for ironman. You talked about how you saw yourself in him and the way he found his family in his team and the people around him. You said that it was the same for you because you found your family in the people around you.”

I bit my lip as I surged forward to capture her lips into a searing kiss. She smiled as I pulled her as close as possible. The kiss started to get very heated as we then heard banging on the door. She groaned as I pulled away.

“Still have a party to go to.” I said as she nodded her head. She went to open the door as I slipped the ring on. It fit perfectly which left me to wonder how she knew my ring size.

We left the hotel not long after that and headed to the party to celebrate our win. Once we got there, I immediately spotted Sebastian and Santiago. I ran towards them as I jumped up and down with them.

“Oh my god!” I said as they both smiled at me.

“Is this not the greatest birthday ever?” Santi said as I smiled at the guy. “Oh my god….I love your ring. What the fuck?” I grinned as I showed off the arc reactor ring that Alex had given me.

“Alex got it for me for my birthday.” I said as they both smiled at me softly.

“This is dope as hell.” Seb said as I nodded my head. “I need me someone like that.”

“I’m one lucky person. That’s for sure.”

I continued moving around and talking to people. I yelped in surprise when Kelley yanked on my arm.

“Come on.” She said as she pulled me through the crowd of people.

“Where are you taking me?” I groaned as we approached her girlfriend.

“(Y/N), you remember Chrissy.” She said as I grinned at the girl. We had only met a few times.

“Of course! Hi, it’s so nice to see you again.” I know she’s been in France since like the beginning of the tournament, but I have been a little preoccupied with other shit.

“Hey! Congratulations and Happy Birthday!” she said as I smiled. I went to thank her when I felt arms snake around my neck and a face bury itself into my neck. I saw Kelley chuckle softly as I turned to face my wife.

“I’m stealing her.” Alex said pulling me towards the people dancing. We started dancing as the forward grinned at me.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The party continued as we eventually ended up on top of the bar. I had started drinking a little but was nowhere near the level that Alex and them were on. The hangover she was going to have tomorrow was going to be great to watch.

As the night continued, we continued having fun. There was a ton of dancing, singing, and all around shenanigans. Eventually, we departed and headed back to the hotel. Alex was very drunk as I helped her into the room. She smiled at me as she pulled me in by my shirt placing a kiss on my lips. I smiled and reciprocated the kiss as she gripped the back of my neck holding me in place. Her other hand came to my face as she pulled me towards the bed. She turned us a little as I hit the bed and fell onto my back. I stared up at her as she took her shirt off.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this.” She said as she climbed on top of me. I bit my lip as she started placing kisses on my jaw and neck. I need to stop this. She is too drunk. There’s no way she will remember doing this in the morning and that will honestly just break my heart.

“Baby…we need to stop.” I groaned as I pulled away a little. She frowned at me as I tried to hold strong on not giving in to how fucking good she looked in this moment.

“Why?” she asked with a sad look. “Do you not want me?”

“What?” I asked as stared at her in shock. “Of course, I want you…you’re just too drunk to do this right now. The first time we do this I want you to remember it the next morning.”

“Oh…are you sure?” she asked with a pout.

“Yes, I am sure. I love you Alex. I’m always going to want you. That’s never going to change.” I said as I gave her another kiss. She smiled into it as we kissed for a few minutes. I stood and sat her on the bed as I moved to grab some pajamas for her. I helped her change and take off her makeup with her keeping her eyes completely focused on my every move. I changed really quick before climbing into bed with her.

“Happy Birthday…I love you.”

“Thank you…I love you too.” I said as she continued trying to fight sleep.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled with her voice full of sleep as she snuggled into me as much as she could.

“Why are you sorry?” I asked as she shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“Then, don’t apologize.” I said kissing her forehead as she gave me a lazy smile.

“Okay…thank you for taking care of me.”

“I’ll always be there to take care of you.” I said as she grinned at me.

“I know. It’s why I married you.” She joked as I shook my head. Drunk Alex has jokes.

“Well…I guess it’s a good thing I plan to be here with you forever.” I said as she smiled sweetly at me. Eventually, we drifted off into sleep. I know this is only the beginning of the craziness that is to follow us the next few weeks.

**To Be Continued…**


	16. To home we go

(Y/N) POV:

I woke to banging on the door as I noticed Alex still fast asleep next to me. I quickly got out of bed and went to open the door. I glared as it revealed Christen and Tobin both giving me small smiles.

“What the hell are you two doing here?”

“We have to go soon so we figured that we could do like last minute shopping or get lunch or something.” Christen said with a grin as I shook my head.

“Plus, a lot of the girls are still wanting to celebrate the win so…they’re drinking and we know that as long as Alex is drinking you won’t be.” Tobin said with a small smile as I frowned at both of them.

“That’s unfair.” I said as they grinned at me.

“It’s only a matter of time until Kelley finds her way here so…”

“I hate that you’re right.” I mumbled as they both grinned at me. “Let me get her up and dressed and shit.”

“Glad you see it our way.” Christen said as I flipped her off before slamming the door shut. I turned and walked back into the room as I saw Alex snuggled up into the pillows. I smiled softly as she continued to sleep away. I decided to let her sleep a little bit as I started getting our stuff together so we would be ready to leave later. I took a quick shower and got dressed before finishing packing up my stuff.

Once I made sure all our stuff was put together, I made sure she had clothes and stuff to wear for the day before checking the time. I had maybe another 20 minutes before someone comes to bother us again. I set some water and medicine on the bed side table for when she was awake. Then, I walked over to the bed and laid down next to her. I nudged her a little and smiled when she started to wake up.

“Morning Love.” I said as she opened her eyes and stared at me with a blank look before a small smile covered her face.

“Morning.” Her voice was raspier than usual which caused me to melt just a little inside. I watched as she glanced around. She had shut her eyes and turned her head burying into the pillow a little. She was most definitely hungover.

“How you feel?” I asked joking as she turned and frowned at me. I grinned at her as her frown turned into a scowl. I don’t think she was finding the same humor that I had in this.

“My head hurts.” She groaned as I nodded my head.

“I assume it would…you definitely drank at least three times your body weight yesterday.” I said as she sent me a small glare. “There’s some medicine right there for you.”

She turned her head before smiling a little. She reached over and took the medicine I left and popping the pills in her mouth before drinking some water. She downed the water before looking back at me with a small pout. I opened my arms leaning back against the headboard before she crawled into them. She rested her head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her.

To be honest, I am a little surprised that she isn’t like throwing up or some shit. I scratched her back a little as I watched her try to fight sleep. I knew I probably shouldn’t let her go back to sleep but she was so damn adorable.

“Alex…” I said softly as the forward looked up at me. “You need to go shower and get dressed. We have to go soon.”

“No…” she whined burying her head into my shoulder. “Sleep…”

“We’re gonna go get food.” She gave me a small look as she seemed to weigh if food was worth getting up for. Ultimately, her empty stomach must have won out because she stood up grabbing everything I had left for her and headed into the bathroom. I chuckled to myself a little bit as I went on my phone looking at social media.

I had a shit ton of new followers and had been being praised for my performance during the tournament. I loved the attention I was getting for my skills, but I was also vaguely aware of what people would be saying about my family and about my relationship with Alex. I wasn’t expecting her to kiss me, but it wasn’t unwelcome. I love her and I don’t really care who knows it. I want the world to know she is mine and I am hers.

I keep forgetting that not everyone is aware that she and I are married. At this point, I don’t know how everyone will react considering no one was really a part of our decision to do that. Obviously, I predict that most people are going to be upset and have hurt feelings. In my defense, I hadn’t anticipated Alex straight up proposing to me. I don’t regret the decision though. I know how hard it must have been for her considering everything that happened with Servando. He broke her heart in the worst way. Anyone would be lucky to be with her and the fact that I get to do that with her for the rest of my life…well I am one lucky son of a bitch.

I glanced up when she exited the bathroom. Her hair was damp, but she was fully dressed. I smiled slightly knowing she looked good. I mean…I picked her outfit so obviously she was going to look good. She moved around the room putting her stuff away and making sure everything was packed as I continued looking through social media.

Once she was done, she came over and laid on the bed with me. She pulled me closer pressing her lips to mine. I melted into her as she grinned into the kiss. I leaned my forehead onto hers as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“Thank you.” She said softly as I smiled at her a little.

“For what?”

“Taking care of me. Giving me medicine. Helping pack my stuff. Just being here I guess.” She said as I kissed her again.

“You don’t need to thank me for those kinds of things.” I said as she tilted her head a little. “Alex…I’m always going to be there for you. No matter what the situation.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I thank god that I have you.” She said as I leaned forward kissing her again.

We spent the next few minutes discussing what was going to be happening the next few days before we heard knocking on our door. I stood and walked over towards it pulling it open.

“Hello!!” Kelley said walking in with a giant grin. She had a drink her hand and honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. “It is a beautiful day and we are World Cup Champions!”

“Have you been cleared for your concussion?” I asked as the defender faltered a little sending me a small glare.

“Not important.” She said as I frowned in disapproval. Alex also had a small frown on her face.

“Kelley you need to go to the doctor and stop drinking.” Alex said as I nodded my head. “Don’t make me call your girlfriend.”

“That’s cruel first of all…but fine I will go to the medical staff just to get everyone to shut up.” She rolled her eyes before exiting the room.

“I really worry about her all the time.” I said as Alex nodded her head. Alex stood and came towards me giving me another kiss.

“She’s going to drop one day I swear…”

I nodded my head as my phone dinged. I had a text from Christen telling me that they were all going to meet downstairs for brunch. It was more of a command which had me rolling my eyes.

“Want to get some food?” I asked Alex who nodded grabbing her phone. She intertwined our fingers pulling me towards the door as we headed down to meet up with everyone. It didn’t take us long as we found our friends and took seats with them at the restaurant at the hotel we were at.

“It doesn’t feel real.” Lindsay said as I nodded my head. It didn’t feel like we had just won the World Cup.

“Well it is! We won the world cup! World champions.” Sonnett said with a grin as I smiled at their excitement.

“I’m just excited to go home. Those beds aren’t as comfortable as mine is.” I said as everyone nodded to that.

“Amen to that.” Pinoe said as she took a sip of her drink. We continued eating and talking as we just enjoyed the time that were getting right then. I knew we had to leave soon and most of us were excited to head back to the states. I haven’t really thought about how different things are going to be when we get back.

“You know you guys are really the talk of the team, right?” Ash said looking at Alex and I as I frowned. “Your kiss apparently melted hearts around the world…”

I looked to Alex who had a slight tint to her cheeks indicating that she was blushing. I smiled and leaned over kissing her cheek. She grinned at me as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Y’all melted my heart…” Mal said as I laughed at her. I turned when Kelley entered the room. She sat down next to Allie and Tobin and grinned triumphantly at all of us.

“Just so you assholes know…I am cleared and fine and ready to continue the celebrations.”

“Good. I’m glad that you get to drink still…” I said sarcastically as she flipped me off.

“I am healthy as can be…so suck it…” she said as I chuckled

“Sorry for being concerned about your health.” Christen said as I nodded my head along with the forward.

“I would prefer you didn’t die before we get back to the states…I mean I think it would be cause for an international incident.” Becky said as most of us laughed.

We continued eating and chatting about how hectic the next couple of weeks would be with having to do so much media. The consensus was everyone was super excited about the ticker tape as well as the ESPYs. Alex was nominated for an espy as was the whole team. I don’t want to sound cocky but given how we did this summer I would say we are a shoe in. So is Alex at this point.

Eventually, we all were done and headed back up to our rooms to do some last-minute packing or cleaning up. We then gathered our stuff as we exited the hotel and got on the bus to go to the airport.

“Look what I found…” JJ said as she passed me the world cup trophy. I grinned and gave it a kiss as Alex smiled at me. I winked at her as I passed the trophy back to JJ who then started passing it around to a bunch of other people.

The ride to the airport was short as we then waited to get on the plane. I was sat next to Alex who had been passed the trophy. She was cuddling it as the camera came up to her. I laughed at her calling the trophy a best friend as we then boarded the plane not long after that. The ride was going to be about 11 hours, so I was hoping to get a little bit of sleep.

As predicted, everyone had started drinking again including Alex. I drank a little bit but not nearly as much as the rest of them. There was no way I was going to try to catch up to Pinoe and Kelley because they are straight up hammered. Alex wasn’t completely hammered but she was definitely getting there. Sonnett too.

The flight seemed to pass by quickly especially when you consider how much fun we were all having. I got Alex to sleep for a little bit so she wouldn’t be a mess when we got to New York. I had also found pretty good conversations with Christen and Becky. Christen had joked with me about Pinoe telling everyone about Alex and I being married which had only started to make me slightly paranoid. Damn her.

“We’re home!!!” Sonnett yelled as the plane came to a stop. I chuckled when Lindsay hit her on the leg trying to get her to sit down. Mal and Rose just both were laughing at them as Tierna had her phone out filming the whole encounter. I shook my head at them deciding I didn’t want to get involved in their antics.

It took a little bit for us to be allowed off the plane as there were a ton of media outside. They wanted to get through all the boring stuff so that we could just leave after we got off. I glanced out the window seeing all the cameras set up and knowing that it was all for us. It was an odd thought.

“Nervous?” I turned towards Ali who gave me a soft smile.

“I don’t get nervous.” I said as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I smiled and shook my head. We both knew it wasn’t true.

“It’s different than when we left. I feel different.” I admitted causing the defender to give me another soft smile.

“Sweetie…you are different…what you have been through since we left is unimaginable.” I nodded my head knowing she was right. We had all been through so much since we left. We shouldn’t expect to be completely the same.

“I don’t know if I am ready for everyone to know everything about me.”

“(Y/N) you’re one of the strongest people I have had the privilege of knowing. I don’t actually believe that you would let anyone, or anything bring down your spirits at this point.”

“Yeah.” I nodded my head as we were told we could start exiting the plane. It didn’t take us long as we took a group picture. I grimaced as I continued watching Alex down drinks. Though, watching Pinoe literally pouring alcohol down her throat was slightly amusing. Eventually, we were able to leave as we were off to do a little media. I had got sent with Kelley which was both great and an utter nightmare.

“This is so much fun. Stop complaining.” Kelley said as I chuckled at her bright personality.

“I’m not complaining.” I said as Kelley rolled her eyes. We had just finished all the media we had to do for the day. We were going to meet some of the other girls. Alex was included thankfully. I thought doing media was bad for me, but it was an actual horror story for her. I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes.

We were escorted to where the other girls were. I know Christen and them were here, but they were staying away from all the girls who were being rowdy. Something about needing a break. I mean…that’s fair. Kelley had left me to go change into a swimsuit because of the pool and needing a tan. I smiled when I spotted Alex sitting talking to Crystal and Sam. I came up behind her and slid into the spot next to her throwing my arm around her. She jumped a little but then grinned at me.

“Welcome to the party” Crystal said as I smiled at her.

“You’re not going to change?” Sam asked as I shook my head.

“No. I’m content to just watch everyone.” I said as they all groaned.

“Get into the excitement.” Sam said as standing up. “You need to get on my level,”

“I might die trying to get to your level.” I admitted as she shrugged heading towards the pool.

“You good?” I asked Alex who nodded her head. She gave me a kiss as Crystal got up to go talk to Pinoe and Krashlyn.

“I missed you.” Alex said quietly as I raised an eyebrow at her.

“We were separated for a few hours.”

“Too long.” She said as I chuckled.

“I don’t know how you’re going to survive when we go back to our clubs.”

“Ugh…don’t remind me.” She said frowning at me as I kissed her again. “I won’t survive.”

“You will. We’ll be okay.” I said as she nodded.

“I know but doesn’t mean I will like it.” I nodded along to her statement.

“I don’t expect you too.” I said as Kelley came out yelling about wanting to be in the pool. Alex got up to go hang out with Kelley as I searched for Christen. I grinned when I found the forward. She was lounging talking to Tierna, Becky, and Tobin. I joined the group as they all smiled at me.

“How was your media?”

“Boring.” I replied quickly getting amused smiles in return.

We all sat talking for a little bit. The rest of the day was seeming like it was going to pass by quickly. As everyone seemed they were going to be wanting to leave, I quickly pulled Alex aside.

“I want to take you somewhere, but we need to be alone when we go.” I said as she nodded her head. I don’t think she knew where I was taking her, but I know she knows I am serious about needing to be alone.

It took a little bit of effort to get everyone to let us go on our own but eventually we were able to sneak off as I dragged Alex into a jewelry store that wasn’t too far from our hotel. Alex’s eyes had immediately been filled with realization upon us entering the store. She grinned at me as we both started looking for what we wanted for our rings.

We had already discussed prior to leaving France that we would get rings for each other as soon as possible. I knew it was something that we didn’t necessarily need, but I know it would mean so much to be able to wear them. Like I said, I want everyone to know she’s mine.

“I like this one. What do you think?” I looked at the one she had put on as I smiled and then looked at her. I found myself admiring at the fact that she was even my wife. I was getting to buy rings for my wife and I.

“I think it’s perfect.” I said staring at Alex who blushed before telling the woman who had been helping us that it was the one, she wanted. It didn’t take us long to find my ring because to be honest I wasn’t that picky. The ring I got complimented the one Alex had got so…that’s all that really mattered. We had agreed that we wouldn’t wear them in public just yet until more people knew. I give it a day before she forgets, and everyone knows. I don’t know how funny she thought it was when I told her that though.

After we left, we made our way back to the hotel. We had a big day tomorrow. GMA and more media to do. I knew it was going to be exhausting for her and so she needed to get some rest tonight. It didn’t take us long to get into bed and to fall asleep. The travel and activities were starting to really weigh on our bodies. I could definitely feel it in my body at least.

The next day was another bright and early morning as we got ourselves ready to go to GMA. I could tell everyone was super pumped and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat excited about it. It didn’t take us long to get there as we did the little group interview before we were all pulled away from each other again to go off and do our respective interviews. Once again, I ended up with Kelley. She was a little more tolerable which was a blessing.

The day was long, and I knew the next day was going to be even longer. We had the ticker tape parade in the morning as well as getting keys to the city. Then, we had to get on a plane and go to the ESPYs immediately after that.

The media seemed to drag on as we finally got back to the hotel. Kelley had immediately abandoned me to go talk to her girlfriend on the phone. Alex was gone still doing media which sucked but I understood completely. I groaned when my phone started ringing as I entered my hotel room. It was an unknown number as I furrowed my eyebrows and answered it.

“Hello?”

“(Y/N)” I froze immediately closing my eyes. I recognized the voice, but it still felt strange to hear it. “Are you there?”

“How’d you get this number?” I asked immediately trying to stop myself from freaking out.

“A friend…I don’t want to cause issues I just want to talk.” She said as I swallowed the lump that was trying to form in my throat.

“We have nothing to talk about.” I said as I heard her sigh.

“I know you want nothing to do with me or anyone in this family…I just want to talk to you or maybe see you if you would allow that…”

“Why should I? After everything I’ve been through recently…”

“It’s not fair of me to ask you…but in my defense I had no idea dad was going to do that.” She said as I nodded my head. That’s convenient.

“Yeah…well that doesn’t change anything. He still went on national television and said what he said…do you know what it feels like to be called an abomination by your own father?” I asked her knowing she could never relate to my situation.

“Look…I know you’re upset, and I wish I could change things. I miss you. I miss having you in my life. I have kids now and I know that they would love to know you…I don’t know when the next time you’ll be in LA but I would love to see you. Just think about it okay?”

“Maybe…” I said as I heard her sigh into the phone. I bit my lip wishing she would get off the phone. “I’ll let you go now. If you decide that you would like to see each other, this is the number you can reach me at. Just shoot me a text.”

“Okay.” I said as I waited for her to hang up.

“Goodbye I love you.” She said as I nodded my head a little and tried to ignore the pain in my chest at her saying she loved me.

“Goodbye.” I said as I hung up and tossed my phone on the bed. I stood for a moment thinking about everything that was going in my head.

On the one hand, I would love to see my sister. She was the one that used to make me feel most comfortable when I was younger. She didn’t turn her back on me until the very end. She still turned her back on me though. Would I have made the same decision though? Where would I be if she hadn’t done that? I don’t like to consider what my life would be if things had been different. My life is perfect the way it is now. I have a beautiful wife and some great friends and an overall amazing family of my own.

I know in my heart that all of that stuff is enough for me. I know I am content regardless of if I see her. The curiosity is killing me though. What could she possibly want besides just seeing me? If its money, I really don’t have any. I have nothing that she could want. Maybe she really does just want to see me.

I jumped slightly when the door opened and in walked Alex. She looked tired as she looked at me and immediately stopped and adopted a concern gaze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as I frowned.

“Nothing. Why do you think somethings wrong?” I asked defensively as she gave me a weird look.

“You’re crying.” She said as I brought my hand up to my face. Sure, enough I had tears going down my face.

“Fuck me…I am fine.” I mumbled as she frowned coming closer to me.

“What happened? Talk to me.” Her concern only seemed to grow as she sat next to me.

“My sister called.” I said knowing there was no way to keep it a secret. “She wants to see me the next time I am in LA.”

“Did she say why?” she asked with a confused expression.

“No…just that she wants to see me.” I said nodding my head as Alex shot me a more confused look.

“Are you going to go see her? Do you want to see her?”

“I don’t know…I mean I want to know what she wants but I just don’t know…”

“You don’t have to know right now…think about it. If it’s something you want to do, then you should go. If not, then don’t do it.” She said as I nodded my head. She’s right. “I’m with you no matter what.”

“I know. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She smiled kissing me as I smiled into it. Just as things were starting to go somewhere there was banging on our door.

“Alex! (Y/N)! Open the door! EXPLAIN THESE GODDAMN RINGS!” Allie’s voice traveled through the door as Alex grimaced. I shot her an amused look as she scowled at me.

“I fucking knew it…” I grinned getting an eye roll from the girl.

Well…time to explain being married to everyone.

**To Be Continued…**


	17. Surprise?

Alex POV:

“No.” I said as I opened the door to see Allie, Kelley, Tobin, and Ash standing there with various upset looks.

Without saying a word, Allie reached forward taking my arm and looking at my hand. The ring that we had just got sat comfortably as they all inspected it.

“Are you engaged?” Tobin asked as they all walked past me into the room. (Y/N) was sat on the bed looking at her phone as Ash grabbed her arm looking at the ring that was on her finger.

“No.” she said snatching her arm back. I walked over and sat next to my wife waiting for them to ask more questions.

“You’re not engaged? Then, explain the rings…”

“We’re married.” I said as they all gave me shocked looks.

“WHAT!?” Kelley yelled looking between us both. I turned to see (Y/N) texting Christen as I waited for her to look up.

“Yeah. We are married.” She said looking up at them. All of them glared at her as I chuckled at how nonchalant she was being.

“Since when?”

“We got married before the final.” I explained as they all then gave us hurt looks. I bit my lip knowing that we were going to have to have this conversation with various people over the next couple of weeks.

“You got married and didn’t tell us?”

There was a knock on the door as I stood up and opened it. Christen gave me a smile as she and Pinoe walked into the room. I went back and sat down throwing my legs over (Y/N)’s lap and resting my arm around her.

“This is such garbage. We are supposed to be you’re friends and you had this major event without us.” Tobin said angrily crossing her arms. I was slightly surprised because usually she is so chill but she genuinely looks very upset with us.

“What happened?”

“They got married in France before the final.” Kelley said with an irritated expression.

“Oh.” Christen said shrugging her shoulders.

“Oh did you send me the videos for that actually?” (Y/N) asked the other forward who nodded her head while pulling her phone out.

“I forgot but I’ll send them right now.” She said as the midfielder nodded her head.

“You knew!?” Tobin asked with a look of hurt on her face.

“I did…” Christen said carefully.

“Don’t be mad at her. I made her promise not to tell anyone. We didn’t exactly want everyone to know at the time.” She said with a defensive look on her face.

“Why not?”

“It wasn’t your business.” She said causing all of them to get hurt looks on their face.

“Okay…” I said as they all looked to me. “It was a last minute decision. We weren’t going to tell anyone but given what was going on that day Becky and Christen were trying to check on (Y/N) which is the only reason that they know.”

“I knew too. So does Servando.” Pinoe said shrugging as they all gave her wide eyed looks.

“Servando knew before I did!” Allie yelled as we all nodded.

“To be fair, he found out when I punched him.” I gave her a look of disapproval as she smiled at me.

“Yeah it was great.” Pinoe commented getting a grin from my wife. I shook my head at her as she gave me a giant grin.

“Look, we plan on having a wedding that you can all help us plan. We didn’t want to wait though.” They all frowned as I smiled and kissed (Y/N) on the cheek.

“I swear to god I will fight all of you….I’m really not in the mood right now.” She continued as most of them gave her a dirt look. No one protested though and for that I was grateful.

“So, what are you guys thinking for date and time?” Kelley asked crossing her arms.

“I don’t know. We still need to tell my family.” I said gaining more wide-eyed looks from everyone.

“Your parents don’t know?” Allie said with a shocked look on her face.

“What part of we didn’t tell anyone do you not get?” (Y/N) asked with an irritated gaze. I chuckled slightly as everyone shrugged.

“How do you think they will react?” Christen asked looking between the both of us.

“I think my family will freak. I know they will probably have concerns considering how everything with Servando happened so…”

“Santiago and Sebastian are definitely going to murder me.” The girl next to me said as everyone shot her amused looks. The team had come to adore the boys in the short time that they had known them. Mostly because of how protective they are over (Y/N), but they are also super entertaining.

“That should be a fun conversation.” Pinoe commented as everyone laughed.

“Yeah…I can’t wait.” She responded sarcastically.

Eventually, they all left as I decided that maybe it was a good idea to let my family know sooner rather than later.

I laid down on the bed pulling my phone out as I called my mom. (Y/N) laid down on my stomach wrapping her arms around my waist giving me a smile as we waited for my mom to answer. I had the phone on speaker phone as I lazily ran my fingers through her hair.

“Hey sweetheart.” I heard my mom as I smiled.

“Hi mom” I said somewhat nervously.

“What are you doing?”

“Just laying here with (Y/N).”

“Hey Pam” she said as my mother said hello back to her. I forget how much my mom adores her. Hopefully, that will make this conversation easier.

“Are you guys enjoying New York?”

“Yeah, its been really hectic but nothing we can’t handle.” I said as (Y/N) smirked at me clearly knowing I was avoiding saying why I called.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Can’t I just call my mom?” I asked earning a scoff from her as I got a grin from the girl in front of me.

“Alex I’ve never known you to just randomly call me. Your phone calls usually have a purpose.”

“I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to freak out.”

“Might as well just tell me what’s going on…”

“Okay…(Y/N) and I are married…we got married while we were in France.” I said quickly as I waited for a response.

“You did not.” There was a ton of disapproval in her voice as I bit my lip. “Alex please don’t tell me you eloped.”

“I did, but I can explain.” I said quickly as she sighed.

“Go ahead.”

“Okay…I love her a lot mom. I know that I am meant to be with her and before you say this is the same situation as before…it’s not. It’s different. I feel different. I don’t have any fears about whether my heart is safe or not. I know that this future I am creating with her is what I am supposed to do. Asking her to marry me was the best decision I could have made. Things aren’t always going to be easy for us, but I don’t want to do this with anyone else.”

(Y/N) had a soft smile on her face as she stared at me. I needed her to know that there was only truth in my words. The only future I want is with her.

“Alex…I just wished we had known about this. I think we all would have loved to have been there.” She said though she didn’t sound mad anymore.

“I know.”

“If I may…we are still planning on having a whole ceremony and stuff and we would love for you to be as involved as possible.” (Y/N) said as I heard my mother let out a gasp.

“Oh my gosh! Of Course. We will have to start planning as soon as possible.” She said as she went on her own tangent of things we would need to do. I just smiled as I listened to her ramble on before she finally decided that she needed to go to do some research on stuff. She suggested letting the rest of my family know as we let her know we had phone calls planned for everyone else.

After we got off the phone, we called other members of my family. Everyone seemed to have similar reactions to my mothers as (Y/N) just smiled at how predictable they all were. We then decided to call Sebastian and Santiago. I could tell she was nervous because they are such a huge part of her life.

“What’s up Bitch?” Santiago’s voice came through the phone as (Y/N) just rolled her eyes.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t” he said immediately causing her to smile.

“Are you with Seb?” she asked as we then heard Sebastian’s voice come through the phone.

“Hey (Y/N)!” she grinned at hearing the boys voice.

“Hey!” I smiled at the excited look on her face.

“What can we do for you?”

“Alex and I got married in France.” My jaw dropped slightly at how blunt she had been as she just smiled at me.

“What?” Both boys sounded shocked as she shook her head in amusement.

“Yeah…we got married.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“No. I am not. We got married and we do plan on having a ceremony and stuff. I want you to know that I have thought it through, and I don’t regret my decision of saying yes when she asked.”

“She asked you?” Santiago asked as (Y/N) sighed clearly knowing what was coming next.

“Yes.”

“That’s very bottom of you.” I grinned at her as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m a top thank you very much. The slutty lisa if you will…” I gave her a confused look as she shook her head.

“Does that make Alex the horny puppy?” he asked as I heard Sebastian scold him.

“I don’t know what that means but it doesn’t sound good at all.” I said as (Y/N) burst into laughter.

“Oh. Hey Alex.” He said nervously. “I don’t really know how to properly explain that statement…”

“You know what? I don’t want to know.” I said as my wife gave me a grin.

“Well…I won’t lie. It sucks that we weren’t informed of your wedding, but I am really happy for you guys. Also, dibs on best man.” Sebastian said as the boys then started arguing over who would be the best man for (Y/N).

“Okay we can argue later…I got to go.” She said ignoring them.

“Fine. I loooooove you.” Sebastian said as she smiled at the phone.

“Love you Lisa.” Santiago said as they got off the phone.

“Please explain.” I said immediately as she grinned at me.

“I don’t know even know where to begin.” She said as I rolled my eyes. That was basically code for she wasn’t going to. I know her tricks.

Eventually, we decided that we might as well make a public post about it knowing that it was only a matter of time before everyone found out. We both posted things on our social media accounts before deciding to stay off and just spend time with each other. It wasn’t long before we had to go out for dinner.

Our dinner seemed to pass my very quickly as we enjoyed the company of our teammates. It was nice being able to enjoy our time with everyone. Mostly everyone seemed to take our marriage really well. We were congratulated by everyone after promising invites to the wedding to the whole team.

“Tomorrow is going to be amazing, but like also suck…” she said as we laid in bed later that night. I nodded my head knowing what she meant. It was going to be fun, but also extremely stressful.

“I know what you mean. Some unforgettable memories though.” I commented as she nodded her head.

It didn’t take long for sleep to find us considering how much stress we’ve been under. That seems to be the one thing we are really good at. I don’t know how I will be able to cope when we have to go back to our clubs. It’s been bothering me a lot. I’ve grown used to her being right there and being away from her for even a few hours feels unbearable. It’s something that will definitely take some adjustment for me and I am not thrilled about it.

The next morning seemed to go very quickly as we had to be up and out to head out for the ticker tape parade. I was relieved to find out that I would be on the same float as (Y/N), Ali, Ash, Pinoe, Becky, etc. I know (Y/N) was especially relieved about Becky.

Prior to the parade starting, it was mostly all of us drinking and messing around. I could tell (Y/N) wasn’t drinking from how reserved she remained through the morning. In the times I have done things with her, she has never been a huge drinker. She usually remains pretty sober and takes care of me which I am grateful for.

“This is amazing.” She said looking around as we made our way through the parade. I smiled at the look of awe on her face. Even with all the sights around us, her face still managed to be the best thing I could look at. She looked at me as I grinned at her. I kissed her cheek as Pinoe then offered us more drinks.

We continued through the parade before finally getting to city hall. We went through that whole ordeal and getting our keys. (Y/N) bit her lip in amusement as Carlos got booed. I think we all trust that he will do right by our team, but it doesn’t make it any less funny. I almost lost it seeing the excited look on (Y/N)’s face when she got her key. Kelley and Allie also almost killed me with their whole situation with the keys.

Once it was over, we got a quick lunch before heading to the airport to get head to LA. Mostly everyone was getting ready on the plane or doing their best to do so. I grinned as Kelley and Ash whined at (Y/N) to explain the ‘slutty lisa’ and ‘horny puppy’ conversation from the night before.

“You wouldn’t get it anyway. You don’t know the context.” She said as they both pouted at her.

“Yeah but Alex said that Santiago said she was the horny puppy of the relationship…so like what does that mean?” Kelley asked with a suspicious look on her face.

“It’s like a top-bottom conversation but its more of an inside joke between us. I’m not explaining the context to you.” She said as Ash rolled her eyes before walking away.

“So, like in my relationship….” Kelley said as (Y/N) rolled her eyes. “Who is the slutty lisa?”

“In my opinion?”

“Yes.” Kelley said a little too quickly.

“You would be the slutty Lisa and Chrissy the horny puppy.”

At this point, Sonnett and them were practically on the ground laughing as I chuckled at the smile that had graced Kelley’s face.

“Nice. Okay do preath…” My wife grinned and went to open her mouth when Christen cleared her throat.

“I will punch you so hard.” She said glaring at (Y/N) who bit her lip most likely weighing in her head if it was worth it.

“Okay I won’t….Lisa….” she said before trying to dodge Christen who went to smack her on the arm.

Once we arrived in LA, it was a whirlwind to get to the ESPY’s on time. We were all running around as I made my way out of the hotel room. (Y/N) and I had got dressed separately because I had to do some quick planning with my team, and she hadn’t really wanted to be too involved. Some of the dresses were super nice and I wanted to impress her, so I was pretty grateful that she opted not being there.

As soon as I made sure my hair was good, I walked out of the room to see (Y/N) leaning against the wall outside my room. She was looking down at her phone clearly waiting for me. I took the moment to check her out. She had a black suit on that matched my dress really nicely. I know my team had something to do with her outfit so I would need to thank them later. She glanced up and smiled biting her lip slightly as her eyes roamed my body. I shook my head as she took a step towards me offering me her arm.

“You look really sexy.” She commented causing some of the girls that were with us to smile.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I said leaning over and kissing her cheek. We got in the elevator as she leaned against wall smiling at me. Her eyes went down my body again as something caught her eye. She frowned grabbing my arm and inspecting the bruise that the dutch player had left on me.

“I’ll fight them.” She muttered as I shook my head.

“No, you are not.” I said causing her to frown.

“I thought you dove.” One of my stylist and close friends said.

“So did the rest of the world.” I commented causing (Y/N) to frown.

“You didn’t though. I’m still going to fight.” I rolled my eyes as we exited the elevator and made our way to the car to take us to the show. We were running late already so we needed to hurry. As we got comfortable in the car, I noticed (Y/N) frowning at her phone.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as she looked over at me.

“I agreed to meet with my sister. She wants to meet in like two or three days. She invited me to her house. I’m just really nervous.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked wanting to do as much as I can for her.

“No, you’re going to be so busy the next few days…”

“Hey, you’re more important to me than all of this. If you want me to go, then I will be there.” I said causing her to give me a weak smile.

“I would love for you to go with me then…I don’t want to do it alone.”

“Then, I’ll be there.” I said earning a soft smile from her. She leaned over and gave me a kiss.

Once we arrived too the show, everything happened quickly. I took home the award for best female athlete and the team took home the award for best team. Since we announced that we are married already, I was able to thank (Y/N) in my speech earning a giant smile from her.

We had been invited to a few after parties, but I was way too tired and with everything I still had to do in the coming days I knew it was better to not attend. There were no complaints from (Y/N) who decided to lay down on the couch of our hotel room. I smiled laying on top of her as I rested my head on her chest listening to her heartbeat. It didn’t take long for met to doze as she had been scratching my back lightly.

The next day also seemed to fly by as I was pulled away for more interviews and media. I was bummed cause I couldn’t spend anytime with (Y/N) which was horrible. I know how nervous she is for the meeting with her sister, so it was killing me to be away from her. She had been spending time with my family and her friends. My mom had thrown a ton of stuff for wedding planning at her to which I got some great reaction pictures and videos from my sisters.

“Your mom is trying to kill me I swear to god.” She mumbled as I chuckled at her. I had just got back from a full day of media. I was laying in her arms trying to fight the tiredness so I could spend a little bit of time with her.

“She’s just excited.”

“Still…I don’t really care about the details. I just want to be there with you.” She said as I grinned at her. I gave her a kiss earning a smile from her in return.

“I want you to have what you want though.” She shrugged her shoulders causing me to chuckle slightly.

“Like I said…” she trailed seemingly getting lost in her own thoughts.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” I asked earning a nod from her.

“Yeah…I haven’t seen my sister in so long. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” She admitted as I nodded my head.

“You can always change your mind you know…”

“I know. I just…I want it to go well. She sounds super apologetic. If this goes well, I could get my sister back. I don’t think it will ever be the same, but its something…”

“It is.” I agreed as she nodded her head.

“Well, whatever happens tomorrow I will be there by your side.” She nodded her head giving me a kiss. After that, I realized I couldn’t fight the tiredness any longer as I snuggled into her arms and drifted off into sleep.

In the morning, I could tell she was nervous. She was unusually quiet as we got ready. I did my best to offer her some comfort to which she seemed to accept. From what I could gather, she had been texting back and forth with quite a few people most likely getting advice from everyone. Christen and I had talked about it just a little the day prior. I was a little shocked to know she knew but considering they are best friends I really shouldn’t have been so surprised.

The car ride to her sister’s house seemed to go by quickly as we were soon outside. The house was two story house that was quite big. Her sister clearly did well for herself as we got out the car. We made our way up to the front door. (Y/N) seemed to hesitate to knock as I frowned at her.

“We can still leave.” I said softly as she nodded at me.

“I know. I just…I am scared.” She said shaking her body slightly. I took her face in my hands giving her a kiss.

“I am with you the whole time. We can leave whenever you want, and I promise that if this doesn’t go well…Pinoe and Ash will beat her up.” She laughed slightly giving me a soft look. She leaned her forehead against mine.

“Thank you.” She said as she turned back towards the door. She knocked and we waited for the door to open. It felt like an eternity before the door was pulled open. There before us was a woman who seemed not much older than (Y/N). I immediately noticed all the similarities between them as her eyes shined slightly. Her gaze was completely focused on my wife. She had something that seemed like awe and wonder in her eyes as she stared at (Y/N). There was something else in her eyes that I couldn’t place. Maybe something like a silent apology or something….almost like she was pleading with her.

“(Y/N)” she said breathlessly and somewhat stressed.

“Hey…” (Y/N) replied nervously.

“Please come in.” she said as she stepped inside inviting us in. We walked into the house and the inside seemed very cozy. There were family pictures on the wall, and I didn’t miss the hurt look on (Y/N)’s face at seeing them. She wasn’t in any of them. It seemed like her family had gone to great lengths to cut her out of the family. “Now, I need you to let me explain.”

“Explain what?” (Y/N) asked as we made our way through the house following her sister to what seemed like the kitchen.

It felt like watching a car accident as we entered the room. Watching a horrifying moment happen and knowing you can’t stop it. All I could do was stand there as (Y/N) froze completely staring at the people sitting there. The attention seemed to completely turn to my wife as she surveyed the room. They all seemed to keep their focus on her as a man that I had seen once before stood up.

“(Y/N).” he said as she swallowed looking at her sister with betrayal before shifting her gaze back to him.

“Dad.”

**To Be Continued…**


	18. A Resolution

(Y/N) POV:

“Well, aren’t you going to greet your dear old dad?” he asked me as I stood there frozen to my spot. He took a step towards me as I instinctively moved back. My movements caused him to halt as he gave me a look of disappointment. “(Y/N)”

“Stay away from me.” I said as he shook his head. He turned around and walked towards the kitchen table taking a seat.

“(Y/N)” I turned towards my sister as I immediately felt my blood begin to boil. She had betrayed me. I stared at her waiting for her to say something as she opened and closed her mouth a few times. “I’m sorry.”

“How could you….?”

“Look…don’t blame her” my brother said standing up. He moved to come towards me as I glared at him.

“Do I look like I was talking to you?” I asked as he stopped and glared back at me. I felt a slight squeeze on my hand as I turned towards Alex. She gave me a sad look as I felt myself calm down. I wasn’t alone. I had her on my side.

“I think you’re being quite rude. Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Our moment was broken as I turned back towards my family. They all were looking between Alex and I as I moved myself in front of her a little.

“No.” I said as my mom sighed a little. She moved around the counter as she approached me cautiously.

“We heard from your sister that you were going to be here. We just wanted to see you.” She said softly as I stared at her.

“What makes you think I want to see any of you?” I asked as a look of hurt crossed her features.

“We are your family. Whether or not you like it.” My brother said as I turned towards him again.

“Again…do I look like I was talking to you?” he rolled his eyes as my sister took a step towards me.

“Why don’t we all sit down…I know you may not want to see everyone, but this could be a great opportunity to have a talk as a family.” She said as I shook my head.

“I haven’t been a part of this family for a long time.” I said as she gave me a pleading look.

“That is garbage and you know it.” My brother said glaring at me. “You left. Not the other way around.”

“You must have amnesia or something because that is not how it happened. I was told I either leave and never come back or I would be kicked out.”

“The past is the past. We can’t change it. All we can do is move on from it.” My brother said as I shook my head.

“You think it’s that easy? That I can just let go of everything that happened? You have no idea how hard everything has been for me. Let’s not mention how everyone knows what happened to me now. Thanks for that by the way.” I said directing the end of my sentence towards my father who rolled his eyes.

“I was asked about you and to do a story on you. Was I supposed to lie?”

“You called me an abomination on national television.” I said feeling my chest to begin to ache. A hand on my back told me Alex could tell I was getting more upset. I moved slightly to wrap an arm around her waist keeping her tucked into me.

“Your lifestyle is a disgrace.” He said calmly as my mom shook her head.

“We aren’t doing this again.” She said turning around to face him. He stood and glared at her as I felt confusion wash over me. They were glaring at each other as everyone looked between them. “If you don’t want to admit that you made a mistake, then I will.”

She then turned towards me as I stared at her. She looked at Alex and then back at me.

“(Y/N). I am so sorry for what happened. I wish everyday I could take back what happened just to get those years back with you. You are not a disgrace. You are not an abomination. You are absolutely perfect the way you are, and I wish nothing more than for you to be happy whether that be with me in your life or not.”

“I…um thanks.” I said as she gave me a small smile. I heard my father scoff as he stood up and turned towards us.

“You shouldn’t lie to the girl now. She is old enough to know the truth.”

“What is the truth exactly?”

“That you’re nothing to this family. You continue to live a life of sin therefore you are not welcome to this family.” He said sternly as I laughed.

“You say that like I didn’t already know that.” Alex shook her head at my statement as I gave her a small smile.

“You may feel that way, but I certainly don’t.” My mother said turning and glaring at him again.

“Is that not why you got divorced in the first place?” my brother asked crossing his arms as he glared at my mom.

“You got divorced?” I asked with a confused look as my mom nodded her head.

“A lot has changed.” My sister said as I nodded my head. “I am going to ask you quite nicely to leave my house now. You were not invited therefore you cannot stay.”

“That is no way to talk to your father.”

“I don’t care.” She said as he then turned to my brother. My brother immediately moved to leave as he glared at both my mother and sister.

“Go to hell.” He said to me as I scoffed.

“I’ll see you there.”

“I am disappointed that we couldn’t have a decent conversation. I suppose I will be seeing you.” My father said as he stopped in front of Alex and I. “You could’ve been amazing. The golden child if you had just stuck to your faith.”

“She’s already perfect the way she is.” Alex said glaring at him as I smiled. I don’t know what I would do without her. I turned back towards him as he glared at her then to me.

“I’d rather be what you think of me then ever deny who I truly am. I have a good life. I have the career of my dreams. A family that loves me and a wife that I love more than anything. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

He shook his head before exiting the house. We all stood in silence for a moment before my mom turned towards Alex and I.

“I don’t think we have officially met yet.” She said extending her hand towards Alex. “I am Holly, (Y/N)’s mother.”

“I’m Alex. Her wife.” My mom smiled before turning towards me.

“You’re a lucky girl.” She said as I smiled.

“Don’t I know it…” I said kissing Alex on the cheek. She smiled as I then felt arms wrap around me.

“I am so sorry. I don’t know how to fix this. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” My sister said as I hugged her back.

“I know.”

We all sat down and started talking for a little while before I decided it was time for Alex and I to leave. Once we were back to the car, I sat for a minute not saying anything.

“Are you okay?” she asked me as I looked at her.

“I don’t know how to feel.” I admitted as she gave me a soft look.

“That’s okay.” She said as I nodded my head.

“Can we go somewhere?” I asked as she nodded her head.

I started driving not entirely sure where I was headed as we sat in silence. It wasn’t long before I was pulling up to the spot I had spent so many of my years at. We got out of the car as she came closer to me intertwining our fingers. We walked for a bit until there was a spot on some rocks that we could sit on.

“How you doing?” she asked me as I looked over at her.

“I feel relieved.” I responded as she raised an eyebrow at me. “I don’t think I realized how much I needed to have that encounter until I was there. I think for so long I wanted him to change his mind about me. I wanted him to accept me and love me but standing there in that moment…all I wanted was for him to leave.”

“That’s understandable.” She said as I nodded my head. “Do you feel like you got any closure?”

“I do. I can finally let go of everything that I was holding close to me. He can’t hurt me anymore.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Things with your mom and sister went well.” She gave me a small smile as I nodded my head.

“Yeah they did. I think that things are going to be different this time. I don’t think that it will ever go back, nor do I want it to…but it’s a start.” She leaned her head on my shoulder as I thought about everything I had been through. “Thanks for staying by my side.”

“I’ll always be by your side.” She said giving me a soft look.

“Till death do us part.” I said as she laughed. She played with her ring a little before leaning over to kiss me.

“Till death do us part.” She smiled before looking down back at her ring. “What’s going to happen in the next few weeks?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…you’re going to have to go back to Utah and I have to go back to Orlando eventually.”

“It’s only for a little while until we are back together for the victory tour.” I responded as she nodded her head.

“Yeah…but we haven’t really been apart since we got together…”

“We will figure it out.” I turned a little, so I was facing her more directly. “When do you have to be back again?”

“End of the month at the latest…why?” she gave me a skeptical look as I smiled mischievously at her.

“So, do I…care to go on a trip with me?” I asked as she smiled

“Like a honeymoon?” she grinned before giving me a confused expression. “I thought you wanted to wait until after the season was over…”

“I did but now all I want is to go somewhere with you where no one else can bother us…I just want to be with you.”

“I can get behind that.” She said as I immediately responded.

“It’s mostly so I can get behind you.” I said smirking slightly as she shook her head.

“Not with that attitude.” I chuckled as she leaned her head on my shoulder. She looked around for a second before turning towards me. “I’ve never been here before. How did you find this place?”

“I used to come her all the time when I wanted to be alone. It’s so peaceful.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Well, we can stay here as long as you want.” She said as I smiled at her softly. I leaned my forehead against her as she gave me a small kiss on the nose.

“We have to go re-join civilization eventually.” I said as she gave me a small smile.

“Yeah I know.” She said as I stared at her. “This is nice though. I feel like we don’t get many moments to spend with just each other.”

“I know. It sucks.” I responded as I moved to stand. I pulled her up with me and smiled as she stumbled just a little into me. “I knew you were attracted to me.”

“Oh haha…laugh at my clumsiness.” She turned to walk away pulling me with her towards the car.

It didn’t take us as long to get back to where we were staying. I had a ton of messages from people who had known about my meeting with my sister today. I only responded to Christen letting her know I was okay and that I would talk about it with her later.

“So…where should we go on this spontaneous honeymoon?” Alex asked as I looked at her trying to think of a place that would be fun for us both.

“I’d suggest Disneyworld, but you know...” She scowled at me as I tried to hold back my laugh.

“That’s not funny.” She said as I bit my lip trying to hide my smile.

“You’re right. It’s not funny.” I said smiling as she rolled her eyes.

“Maybe you can go on this honeymoon by yourself.” She said crossing her arms as I grinned at her.

“You say that, but you would never actually make me do that.” She rolled her eyes again but settled on giving me a small smile.

“Seriously…”

“I don’t know…where can we go that it would just be us?” I asked as she seemed to contemplate it for a moment.

“I’m not sure.” She mumbled looking like she was going deep in thought. I thought for a moment about places that I have always wanted to travel to. Realistically, we should stay on this side of the world considering we have to return to our clubs eventually.

“What about the Bahamas?” I asked as she looked at me.

“Why the Bahamas?”

“Well, we have to go back to our clubs eventually. We are on this side of the world and it still has beaches and I’m sure we could find a hotel short notice.”

“I’ll look into it.” She said as I nodded my head.

The rest of the day was spent just relaxing as Alex researched places for us to go. After the next couple days, we would be free for a bit before having to go back to our respective teams so we would leave immediately. Alex had to do Jimmy Kimmel that next day so I knew she needed to get some rest so we went to bed pretty early.

I could tell she was still a little nervous about what was going to happen after we returned to our clubs and to be honest so was I. We had yet to really be apart, but I don’t think it will be too bad. It was also in the back of my mind to discuss what the next season would look like with me in LA and her in Orlando.

I hadn’t fully realized everything that needed to be discussed due to me still trying to resolve everything with Christen. I know I messed up with her and even though she says its fine…I know it’s not. I know how to fix it though and I fully intend to make sure we all get what we want.

**To Be Continued…**


	19. Time With You

** (Y/N) POV **

“Did you ever think we would end up here?” I turned my head towards Alex. She adjusted the covers a little so that we both were covered. I ran my hand over her face and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

“No.” I admitted as she rested her head down on my shoulder. I ran my hand down lazily scratching her back. “I always dreamed we would though.”

We were currently laying in bed together. It was a few days after we had departed to our honeymoon. We had about another week to get to enjoy this time with each other before we had to go back to our respective clubs. We have discussed what is going to happen with the distance once we are back with our clubs. I know she is still nervous about it, but I have done my best to reassure her that we will be okay. I mean…we just got married so I doubt we are going to be breaking up anytime soon.

“I could stay here forever.” She said as I nodded my head. We stayed in bed for the rest of the day before heading out to get some dinner.

The next day we went sightseeing and to the beach which was my highlight. Anywhere with Alex was a highlight but getting to see her at the beach was a sight worth seeing. The days seemed to pass by quickly and before I knew it, it was time to depart. We would fly back to the states together before departing back to our respective clubs.

“I don’t want you to go.” She mumbled into my shoulder as I held her close to me.

“It’s only for a few weeks. I’ll see you when we play the Pride.” I said as she pouted at me. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She leaned in to give me a kiss as I heard my flight get called.

I picked up my bag as she looked away from me. I could see her eyes watering just a little as I grabbed her giving her one last kiss before I had to leave. The flight was long, and I was missing my wife. I wasn’t used to being away from her at this point. We hadn’t really been separated since we got together so to be separated now just feels weird.

The good thing about being back with my club is that I can get back to training and hopefully getting some playing time. I know Christen is back with the team and I maybe should’ve come back as well, but I really wanted to get that extra time with Alex.

When I finally got back to my apartment, I looked around feeling a little disappointed at how empty it felt. I never realized what I was missing until I got with Alex so now it doesn’t even feel right to be here without her. I grabbed a bite to eat before just laying in bed and watching Netflix. Though, I wasn’t expecting there to be a knock on my door at 8 pm.

“Well, hello there…” I said as Christen and Amy both gave me bright smiles.

“We knew you were coming back today so we thought we would come see how you were settling in…”

“I’m alright…I feel lonely though.”

“Is this the first night without Alex?” Christen asked as I nodded my head.

“I still can’t believe you married her.” Amy said shaking her head as I sat down on my couch.

“Yeah, me neither…” I said trying not to get lost in my thoughts of her.

“You guys are really that couple huh…” Christen said jokingly as I shook my head.

“I just…when I left here, I never imagined that she and I would ever get into a relationship, and now I can’t imagine being away from her.”

“It’s an adjustment. You guys are married though so you got to be in it for the long haul.”

“Oh I am. She’s never getting rid of me.”

“I think you’re the one who should be worried.” Christen said as I gave her a confused look.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…if you were to ask me which one of you could survive longer. I would say you. I am almost positive that it is killing Alex more than it is killing you.”

“It’s not a competition.”

“I’m just saying.” She said as I shook my head a little bit. “Alex doesn’t like to be away from you at all. She’s shown that many times.”

“I don’t like being away from her either.”

“It's why you guys work so well…”

“I guess so.”

“Are you ready to get back into training?” Amy asked giving me a curious look.

“Yeah, I don’t like to go too long without training. It will be nice to get back into things.”

“As strange as it is, I have missed training and playing with you.”

“It’s because you love me so much.” I said as both of them shook their heads.

“I have not missed your arrogance.” Amy commented as I grinned at her.

“Don’t even…” I said as she gave me a small smile.

We hung out for a little while longer before they both left to go home. I was back in bed when my phone started ringing indicating a facetime call.

“Hello beautiful.” I said as Alex came on screen. She appeared to also be laying in bed.

“Hi. I miss you.” She gave me a small pout

“I miss you too.”

We stayed on the call for a little bit before going to bed. She had things she needed to do so she had to get some sleep. The next few days I got back into training which felt really good. We reunited temporarily for the Victory Tour game, but it didn’t feel long enough before we were separated again. 

My first game back for Utah was against Sky Blue. I didn’t score, but I did get an assist to Christen during the game. She got a brace and Amy also scored which was great. After that we had a game against Seattle and won it three to one. I wasn’t thrilled about having to actually go to Seattle, but it wasn’t so bad. I got a goal which was great.

It was the next game after that which I was thrilled about. We would be playing Orlando which means I was going to get to see my wife. I couldn’t wait to tease Alex about the travesty of a game they played against Houston.

“Are you excited?” I turned towards Christen who was sitting next to me on the flight.

“I am so beyond excited. I can barely contain it.” I said as she rolled her eyes at me.

Things with Christen have gone pretty much back to normal since our fight in France. I know she is still bothered by everything that happened though. I try to avoid speaking about Barcelona as to not upset her, but it’s something we need to talk about. I am planning on talking with her after we get back from Florida.

Once we landed, we had to go check in to the hotel. Some of us then proceeded to head over to Ash and Ali’s place to see some of the girls. I couldn’t wait to see Alex. Facetime dates are great, but I desperately need my wife in my arms.

“Will you stop?” I looked over at Amy who was giving me a look.

“I’m excited!” I said defensively earning amused looks from Becky and them. “I want to see her so badly…”

“Well, we are almost there so relax.” Christen said as I huffed a little bit. Once we arrived, we got out and I practically ran to the door. Ash and them said it was fine to just walk in since they knew we were coming.

I walked in and saw Sydney and them talking as my eyes scanned the room for Alex. I grinned when she looked over at me and immediately crossed the room to hug me. I wrapped my arms around her waist picking her up and spinning her around. She smiled giving me a kiss.

“I missed you.” I mumbled as she kissed me again.

“I missed you too.”

“As cute as this is, you’re blocking the way.” I took a few steps over so they could all enter the room while giving Amy a scowl. We spent most of the night glued to each other’s sides before leaving and going back to Alex’s house.

“I don’t like being away from you. It’s like hell.” She said cuddling further into me.

“I know. Facetime is cool, but nothing compares to being with you in person.” I responded by giving her a soft kiss.

The rest of the night was spent getting reacquainted with each other and talking about the things we missed while separated. She didn’t appreciate my jokes about how crazy the Houston game was for them. Or the fact that Orlando was at like the bottom of the table.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. I went looking around the house before finding Alex standing in the kitchen. I smiled walking up behind her and holding her close to me. She jumped a little when I hugged her which caused me to laugh a little.

“Good morning.” She said as she turned her head to give me a little kiss.

“Morning. You made breakfast?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing big, but I figured I would be nice.”

“It’s perfect.” I said leaning over her and taking a bit of the food. “This is actually really good.”

“It’s vegan.” She said as I nodded my head.

“I like it.” I took another bite of the food as we sat down and ate breakfast together.

Eventually, I did have to leave and head back to the hotel. I had a training session to participate in, but I was grateful I got to spend some time with Alex. When I got back, some of the girls were giving me teasing looks. I decided to stay with Becky because I knew she wouldn’t give me much trouble over everything.

“That’s some hickey you’re sporting…” Becky said giving me an amused smile.

“You know I came over here to avoid the teasing.”

“I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t tease you.” She commented as I rolled my eyes.

The rest of the day I had to deal with similar comments from everyone who thought it was hilarious. It was more annoying than anything. The next day though was the game against Orlando. I was pumped, but also nervous. This was the first time that I was playing against Alex since we got together. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I wasn’t going easy on her. Luckily, she was going to be a substitute, so I didn’t need to worry too much.

There wasn’t much to talk about during the first half, but I got an assist to Christen during the second half. Alex was subbed on not long after that. They were picking up just a little after that, but Amy sealed the win in the 90th minute. After the whistle was blown, I made my way over to where Alex was. She shook her head at me in disappointment as I hugged her.

“I’m sorry.” I said as she held onto me tightly.

“No, you’re not.” She responded as I gave her a sheepish look.

“I’m happy to take the win.” She shook her head and then gave me a slight kiss on the cheek. We both made our way around the field signing autographs and stuff before I took my exit.

I went home with Alex and I could tell she didn’t want me to leave. We both had another game during the week so we would have to stay with our teams, but it didn’t mean I was thrilled about it. We had a camp coming up though so I would see her soon.

The next game for us was against Washington which finished in a draw. I got to hangout with Mal and Rose which was great. My concern was for Alex though who took a heavy hit during Orlando’s game against Chicago.

“Have you heard anything?” Christen asked me as I shook my head. “What happened?”

“Well, from the video I saw…she was in a collision with JJ and Sarah Gorden. They said that Sarah’s hip caught Alex’s head when she was falling, and she slammed down into the turf.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Still…”

“JJ texted me and was like, ‘I’m so sorry’” I laughed a little as she nodded her head “I was like, ‘it’s okay.’”

“She’s probably worried that you are going to fight her.”

“I would never fight JJ.” I said as she laughed. “I’d probably lose, but also this was an accident.”

“I’m surprised you’re not on the first flight to Chicago.”

“I’m going to see her for the Victory Tour game so...”

The next day we got to relax just a little. I was in communication with Alex the whole day. She was complaining about being sore from the collision and how her knee was also fucked up. They had told her that they weren’t sure if she would be able to finish the season.

“I know it sucks, but like…if you continue playing and further injure yourself then what are you going to do?”

“I don’t want to miss the rest of the season.” She complained as I nodded my head in understanding.

“I know but baby…the Olympics are next year. You need to stay healthy to maintain your spot.”

“I know…” she said after a moment and I could practically see her pout through the phone. “I feel like I am letting everyone down.”

“You’re not the only injured and missing the season. Kelley is just as restless.”

“I know but like I don’t want to…” I laughed a little at her little whine.

“I know you don’t…maybe you could come to Utah and do your rehab here…” I suggested as the other line remained silent.

“Are you home for the rest of the season?”

“No, our next game is home. After that, we travel to Houston. We have another home game then to Seattle, Chicago, and then finish home.”

“That’s a horrible schedule.” She laughed as I smiled.

“Yeah, you’re telling me. We do have national team camp somewhere in between Chicago and the last home game.”

“Okay…so maybe it won’t be so bad.” I smiled as we continued talking before hanging up.

The next day was a travel day as we headed into camp for the victory tour. That travel wasn’t so bad considering it usually sucks. I had been busy communicating back and forth with some of the Barca reps about media stuff which kind of sucked.

Once we finally got to the hotel, I dropped my stuff to the floor. It was going to be another hour or so before Alex arrived, so I decided to just take a nap. I’m not sure exactly how long I was asleep, but when I woke up Alex was snuggled into my side. The TV was on and it was set pretty quietly, and it looked just a little darker outside.

“I didn’t want to wake you.” I turned my head to look at her as she gave me a small smile. I leaned down to give her a kiss as we laid there for a few more minutes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better now that I am with you…”

“Glad I can help…”

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I mumbled running my fingers through her hair. “It truly sucks to be away from you at any time.”

“Yeah I know what you mean…”

Eventually, we had to join the rest of the team. The camp seemed to fly by because before I knew it, we were back in Utah getting ready for the Portland game. The competition was getting more intense. We only had a few games left so winning every single one was important. Alex was officially staying with me in Utah due to having to sit out the rest of the season. So, that was nice getting to be with her.

“Are you ready for the game against Portland?” Alex asked placing our dinner down on the table.

“I think so.” I said as she took a seat next to me. “This looks good.”

“Yeah it’s a new recipe. My sister sent it to me, so I thought I’d try it out.”

“Well, tell her she did good.” I said after taking a bite of it. She nodded her head smiling softly at me. We sat and ate for a few minutes before I noticed her staring. “What?”

“It’s just…this is so domestic…” I smiled at her with slight chuckle.

“I mean…we are married.”

“I know, but like I always hoped we would get to have moments like this and here we are…”

“Well, to a long life of these moments…” I said raising my glass as she clinked hers with mine.

The next day, I did my usual pre-game rituals before heading to the stadium for the game. It didn’t take long for everything to get started before we were playing. The first half was intense with us going up after an incredible goal from Becky that was assisted by Christen. I mean…it was legendary. As is any Becky Sauerbrunn goal. The second half was when things took a horrible turn for the worse.

“What the fuck Sonnet?” I walked over to where Christen was on the ground while Emily pleaded her case to the ref. I offered my hand to Christen who took it giving me an exhausted look.

“It was an accident.” She said turning and walking away.

“Accident my ass…”

“Let it go.” Christen said turning to walk away as I lined the ball up for the free kick.

A few minutes later Rachel got a yellow card for tripping up Hayley Raso which I found difficult to argue with. It was the 77th minute when all hell broke loose. Sonnett tripped up Arod which caused the ref to give her another yellow resulting in a red card. Amy, who was reasonably pissed off, got in Emily’s face. Vero tried to get in between them and sort of pull Amy away. Amy’s outburst is what caused Tobin and all of them to go after her, so I immediately ran over to help Vero keep the peace a little bit, but I wasn’t expecting Tobin to be losing her shit.

“Tobin seriously…” I said trying to keep her back after she shoved Amy. “Back off!”

“This is ridiculous.” She said turning and walking away clearly still pissed off. Amy was handed a yellow card as well, but I just wanted this game to be over. The drama continued like a minute later when Lindsay shoved Arod down onto the pitch from behind.

“Seriously…” I mumbled deciding I was going to stay away from this one as the ref carded Lindsay. I was surprised that it was a yellow and not red considering she shoved her from behind. I shouldn’t be surprised at how crap these refs usually are.

Thankfully, the game ended not long after that. I was happy to take the win, but I could tell the great goal was going to be overshadowed by drama. Part of me felt bad for Arod considering the fans of Tobin, Sonnett, and Lindsay were no doubt going to be going after her on social media.

“That was crazy.” Christen said as I nodded my head. We shook hands with everyone before doing our usual rounds of autographs. It was afterwards in the tunnel that I went in search of my wife. Christen and I were walking together when I found Alex. She gave me a smile as I immediately walked into her arms.

“That was a great game.” She said sarcastically as I shook my head.

“Yep…” Christen mumbled as I leaned against the wall.

“Lindsay should have been red carded.” I said as they both stared at me.

“There’s nothing we can do now.” Christen said as I nodded my head. I avoided all the Portland players not really in the mood to deal with them. They are my friends and I love them, but I get irritated at the bad calls and somewhat favoritism that they get shown.

“You’re really upset about this.” Alex said to me as we laid in bed that night.

“I shouldn’t be, but I am.” I mumbled as she nodded her head.

“You never really seemed to like Portland.”

“I love everyone there. I think they are a great organization, but there’s just something that I can’t stand…”

“I get it.” I turned towards her pulling her closer to me.

“I’ll be fine tomorrow.” I said as she nodded her head. We went to sleep not long after that.

The next day I had to do a little bit of recovery. At one point, I was alone with Christen so I decided to have that conversation that I have been putting off just a bit.

“Can I talk to you?” she looked at me and nodded her head.

“What’s up?”

“I know you say it’s fine…but I still feel like it’s not…you know with the whole Barcelona thing.” She let out a sigh and looked down as we sat there in silence for a minute.

“I’m not mad anymore and I have forgiven you, but I see all the stuff you are doing. Looking for a place to stay in LA and doing media for them and I just…get sad. I wanted that you know…”

“You can still have it…” I said as she looked at me.

“How do you figure?”

“Well, I didn’t renew my contract with Utah which is how I am able to leave. So, you can still ask for a trade. I’ve talked to some of the staff with Barcelona and they are interested in having you play for the team. Also, with there being a new team being brought to the league. There will be an expansion draft. You could always ask Utah to leave you unprotected so that Barcelona can select you.”

“You sound like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” She said with a slight smile.

“I have. There are ways for you to get there. I’ve told them I think they should go after you with every resource because you are a phenomenal player and we would be lucky to have you.” She gave me a small smile.

“If I didn’t know you were completely head over heels for Alex, I would definitely think you were in love with me.” I let out a laugh at her statement as her smile grew.

“You wish. You could only dream of being with me.” She made a disgusted face as I mocked offense.

“No, I’ll leave that to Alex.” She said as I shook my head. “You lucked out with her.”

“I did, didn’t I? Loving Her has really changed my life…” She nodded her head at my statement. I went to say something else when the door opened and in walked one Tobin Heath. She gave me a small smile walking towards us as I smiled at Christen. “I think you ended up pretty lucky too.”

“I did.” She said as I stood deciding to leave them alone. I smiled at Tobin who gave me an awkward wave as I passed by her.

I exited the room and finished up all my recovery before heading home. I found Alex laying on the couch. She gave me a small smile as I walked towards her and laid on the couch with her. She ran her fingers through my hair for a bit before I drifted to sleep.

When I woke up, I was alone on the couch and she was moving around the kitchen. I stood up and walked over to see take out on the counter.

“I didn’t want to cook, and I didn’t think you did either.”

“No, I didn’t.” I said grabbing some plates for us. We ate our dinner and watched some movies before falling into bed.

“You know…if someone would have told me this where I would be in life at the beginning of the year…I would have thought they were crazy.”

“I know…it feels insane to think about.” Alex responded giving me a soft smile.

“I wouldn’t change any of this for the world though…I love you Alex Morgan.” I gave her a small kiss as she smiled softly at me.

“I love you too (Y/N) Morgan…” I shook my head giving her another kiss before we drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms. Yeah. I wouldn’t change this for anything.

** The End. **


	20. Epilogue

** (Y/N) POV 2021 **

I groaned when I felt Alex start to hit me in my sleep. I woke up and sat up ready to be angry before I saw the panic on her face mixed with pain.

“(Y/N)! Baby! Coming! Now!” she yelled as I woke up fully. I immediately flew out of the bed and ran to pull on some clothes before grabbing the baby bag. I ran back over to her and helped her stand as I walked her towards the car. The drive to the hospital was only like 10 minutes and 5 if I broke speeding laws.

“It’s okay. Just breathe love…I’m going to get us there.” She nodded her head as I helped her into the car and dialed the hospital to let them know we would be coming.

Just as I predicted, it was only a 5-minute drive as we pulled into the emergency parking. I helped her out of the car and walked her into the hospital. There were nurses waiting for us as they immediately put Alex into a wheelchair and escorted us to a room. On the way, I dialed our families and some friends and told them that Alex was about to have the baby. Our friends wished us luck while our families promised to show up soon.

“Hey baby…I am right here…” I said softly as she nodded her head. “You got this…”

“It hurts.” She said as I nodded my head.

“I know, but it will be over soon…then we get to meet our baby…”

The nurse came in to check on Alex and make sure she was doing okay before taking a look to see how dilated she was.

“Good News…from the looks you should be ready to push in the next hour…”

“Hour?” Alex squeaked as she looked at me.

“It’s okay. It’ll pass by so quickly.” I said as she glared at me. “I love you so much.”

About an hour and a half later, the doctor showed up and we started pushing. I was on Alex’s side the whole time giving her as much support as I could.

“Okay Alex one more big push…” he said as she screamed and squeezed my hand which was numb at this point. The room was then filled with loud crying as Alex collapsed backwards in exhaustion. I smiled at her as the nurse gave me scissors to cut the cord. They took the baby as I turned back towards Alex.

“You did so good baby…” I said as she gave me a tired smile. I kissed her brushing some hair out of her face.

“Congratulations on a beautiful and healthy baby boy.” The nurse said handing the baby to Alex. I smiled at them both as I felt tears come to my eyes at the baby in Alex’s arms. She held him for a few minutes before passing him to me. I smiled as I held my son in my arms.

A little while later, I went and found our family. It was Alex’s family, my family, and then Christen and some of the other girls from the team.

“Hey” I said smiling said as they all approached me.

“Well…” her mom said as I laughed a little.

“It’s a boy.” I said as they all smiled at me and her mom gave me a hug. “You guys want to meet him?” They all nodded as they came with me into the room. Everyone washed their hands as I picked up my son.

“What’s his name?” her mom asked as I handed him to her.

“Christopher Morgan. Chris for short.” Alex said as a couple heads turned towards her. Christen turned and gave me a curious look as I smiled at her.

“Named a little after one of the best people I know…” I said as she shook her head at me. Alex gave me a warm smile as I turned my attention towards her.

Everyone took turns talking to Alex and holding Chris before some of them bid farewell to give Alex a chance to relax.

“Christen can you stay really quick…?” She nodded her head as everyone exited the room.

“We wanted to ask you something.” Alex said as I placed Chris back in his bed.

“What’s up?”

“We were wondering if you would consider being Christopher’s godmother…” I said carefully as she gave me a wide-eyed look.

“Oh my god…yes of course I will.” I grinned as she came around the bed to hug me and then gave Alex a hug.

“Thank god.” I said as Alex smiled.

“Who’s the godfather?” she asked after a moment as I smiled.

“Dom.” Alex said as Christen gave me a curious look.

“As in Dwyer?” I nodded my head as Chris nodded her head.

“That’s a choice.” Alex and I both laughed before Alex explained.

“He’s a great dad and there really is no man I trust more other than my dad.”

“What about Santiago or Sebastian?” Christen asked as I shook my head.

“We agreed to pick our own people and then decide on that. I wanted you to be the godmother, so she had to pick the godfather.”

“Well, I am honored.” She said as we continued chatting for a few more minutes before deciding to leave. “I will leave you both to rest.” She left giving Chris a smile before exiting the room. I looked over in the direction of the baby before looking at Alex.

“A baby.” I joked as she gave me a small smile. “I am so proud of you.”

“I’m just happy it’s over and we can enjoy our baby now…” I nodded my head giving her a kiss. I sat and watched her drift off into sleep before walking over and smiling down at my son. I will be a better parent than I had. My son will always know how loved he is. I went back sitting down in the chair next to Alex’s bed before drifting off to sleep. Dreams of the future the only thing on my mind.

** Two Years Later… **

I stood in shock as the moment washed over me. I turned my head just as Alex got to me and wrapped her arms around me. I then felt more bodies collide with us as the crowd cheered around us. I buried my head into Alex as we both tried to fight back tears.

“We did it…back to back to back.” She said as I nodded my head. The other girls went around celebrating as I pulled Alex in for a kiss. I never thought I would win a world cup let alone a second one. Alex is a three-time champion. This doesn’t even feel real.

We continued celebrating as we made our way to the stands. I smiled when Pam handed Chris to me as Alex and I both celebrated with our son. The celebrations continued long into the night before Alex and I finally landed in bed around 4 am.

“Can I tell you something?” I turned my head towards my wife as she gave me a soft look.

“I think next year will be my last…” I sat up giving her a skeptical look.

“Are you sure?” she nodded her head.

“I want to go to the Olympics, but I also want more babies…I know you do too.” I sighed as I thought about the conversation, we were both avoiding.

“Of course, I do, but I don’t want either of us to put our careers on hold…”

“I’ve had a long career.” She said sitting up and resting her head against my shoulder. “You still have a lot left in you. I want more kids and I don’t think it will be as easy to come back from a second pregnancy.”

“Syd did it…so did Amy. You can too.”

“I don’t want too though…I want to live with you and our babies. I want both of us to be present in Chris’ life and our future babies. I’m fine with just being a mom.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like you have too.”

“I don’t feel like that. I want to do this.” she said softly as she leaned over to give me a kiss.

“Okay…you know I support you no matter what.” She nodded her head leaning in to give me another kiss.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

** Two More Years Later… **

“You know you think a second time would be easier…” I commented as Alex glared at me.

“Shut up before I punch you…” I smiled at the former forward as she glanced over in the direction of the two beds.

“Twins…” I said after a moment as she nodded her head.

“Yeah…”

“Can you believe?” I asked after a moment as she turned to glare at me again

“Yes, I felt it…” I grimaced at the flashes of her in labor went through my head.

“Two beautiful babies though…” I said as she nodded her head. The door opened when Chris came running into the room. Christen was right behind him as I grinned picking him up. I held him close to me while he seemed to look around the room in curiosity.

“What’s wrong with mama?” he asked as I turned towards Alex who gave him a tired smile.

“She’s just tired.” I replied earning a head nod from him. He reached for Alex who gave me a look indicating it was okay. I sat him on the bed as he leaned against her. He didn’t seem so interested in meeting the babies, but rather he wanted Alex’s attention. Nothing new there. I walked over to where Christen was looking at the twins, while he told Alex about his day.

“Twins…who knew?” Christen joked as I smiled.

“I know.”

“Are these ones named after friends as well?” I laughed shaking my head.

“No, this is Aurora, and this is Avery.” I said motioning to the girls as she nodded her head. “Sebastian and Jeri will be the godparents for Aurora and Jeni and Santiago will be the godparents for Avery.”

“Do people usually split it up like that?” I shook my head as she laughed.

“I don’t know, but for it to be fair we did…” I turned when Alex called my name.

“He wants to meet the girls.” I nodded my head as I walked over and picked him up.

“You can’t touch yet, but these are your little sisters. This is Aurora and this is Avery.” I said as he stared at the girls in wonder.

“My little sisters?” I nodded my head as he touched the glass of one of the beds. “I’m gonna be a good big brother.”

“Yeah?” he nodded his head at me.

“I have to protect my little sisters.”

“Yeah you do…” I said as Christen gave me an amused look. “You gotta make sure no one messes with them.”

We let him sit with the girls for a few more minutes before Christen agreed to take him home. He would be staying with her for a few days before Alex could leave the hospital. The rest of the day was spent with people coming in and out of the room before Alex and I were finally alone again.

“Get some rest love…you’ve had a long day.” I said softly as Alex rested her head back into the pillow.

“Stay by my side” she mumbled as I smiled at her.

“Always.”

** Two More Years Later… **

“How are you hanging up?” I turned towards Sebastian who gave me a soft look.

“I’m alright.”

“Alex said you seemed sad over your retirement…” Santiago mumbled as I nodded my head.

“I am, but I know it was the right decision…” I said as some of the kids went running past us.

“I bet you’re enjoying more time with the family.” I nodded my head as I watched Chris play with some of his friends.

“Yeah that’s been great…” I mumbled more to myself than to them.

“Alex said you guys are thinking of having more kids as well…” I nodded my head as Seb smiled. “That’s great.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait…”

“Is Alex going to carry again?” I shook my head earning shocked looks from both men.

“You’re going to carry?” I nodded my head as Santi laughed.

“I literally can’t imagine you pregnant…” he said as I gave him a look. “You’re going to be a nightmare.”

“That’s rude.” Seb said as I turned towards him. “I am so happy for you.”

“I am too.” Santiago hugged me as I laughed at him.

“Did you ever think your life would end up like this?” I turned towards Seb again as I shook my head.

“Not in a million years…” I said as Alex brought the cake out and placed it on the table. I walked over to where she was as she and Christen started arranging things so we could sing.

“That is a beautiful cake…” I said as Alex smiled at me.

“He picked it out.” She said placing the candle shaped like a six on the cake.

“So, he has good taste like his mom.” I said as she rolled her eyes. I smiled leaning in to give her a kiss. She shook her head as I then felt a pair of arms wrap around my leg. I looked down to see Aurora smiling up at me. I picked her up and held her close to me.

I watched Alex call all the kids over so we could sing for Chris. She picked up Avery while Christen motioned for Chris to get closer to the cake. We sang and ate cake. Eventually, people started leaving since it was getting late. Jeni and Jeri both volunteered to put the babies down, so I went to join some of the adults who were sitting and talking together.

“All I am saying is that he is going to be a heartbreaker…” Santiago said putting his hands up in a defensive position. Alex adjusted her position a little while I sat with her wrapping my arms around her waist.

“What are we talking about?”

“Christopher and how he is going to break so many hearts when he’s older…” Santi said as I shook my head.

“Yeah, well he better respect women…”

“Then, he probably shouldn’t listen to Santiago.” Sebastian said taking a sip of his beer as I nodded my head.

“I’m not that bad and Chris won’t be either.”

“If you teach my son bad habits, I swear I will-”

“What? What will you do?” Santi asked as I gave him a look.

“Well, honestly…I won’t need to do anything because Alex and Christen will kill you…” I said as he gave me a doubtful look.

“I will kill you.” Alex said as I smiled triumphantly

“Christen will murder you too. She’s trying to teach him to respect people.” Tobin said as I nodded my head. “My wife is one scary woman.”

“Yeah she is…” I mumbled earning laughs from everyone.

“I believe in Christopher. That boy drinks his respect woman juice.” Sonnet said as I laughed.

“First off, I never said Chris would be a problem. Secondly, I am not afraid of Christen.”

“Are you sure about that?” He jumped when Christen came up from behind him earning more laughs from everyone around us. She smiled and sat with Tobin as Santi gave her a skeptical look.

“I was.” He said as she gave him an amused grin.

“If you corrupt my godson, there is no place you can hide.” She said seriously as everyone tried not to laugh at the fearful look on Santi’s face.

Eventually, everyone left. Once I made sure Chris was asleep, I turned off his light and checked on the twins. They were both sound asleep, so I made my way around the house in search of my wife. I finally found her out on our balcony looking up at the stars. I walked out and wrapped my arms around her.

“Can you believe it?” I asked as she shook her head “Our little family.”

“It’s amazing.” She mumbled leaning back into my arms.

“I know. However, did I get so lucky…” I pondered out loud earning a small smile from my wife.

“I ask myself that all the time…” she said as I smiled. She turned in my arms wrapping hers around my neck as I pulled her as close to me as possible. 

“I love you so much Alex.”

“I love you too.” She gave me one final kiss before letting go and taking a hold of my hand. She pulled me towards the house as we checked on the kids one more time before falling into bed together. I fell asleep with nothing but dreams of my wonderful family and the future we still had yet to discover.

** The End. **


End file.
